Lecta
by Cali Vinett
Summary: Kieran Saunders has had a pretty normal life, but all of that is about to change. When she finds out her boyfriend isn't who she thinks, her friends are different, and she's caught in the middle, what will she do? Rated for Chapter 8...and suggestiveness.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** This is kind of a different DotM fic...I actually dreamed this, believe it or not. I'm going to embellish it a little and make it into more of a comprehensible story than it was in my subconscious mind, but it's basically my dream. I don't usually pair Stanton with other girls, 'cause I like the Stanton/Serena pairing, but for some reason, this kinda popped up. This is what happens when I read while I'm falling asleep. Lol. Also, this is a way different fic for me. My main character is _normal_ for once…

Anyway, let me know what you all think of this. I may or may not continue…

-Cali

* * *

**_LECTA_**  


Kieran Saunders dropped her schoolbag with a loud thud and raced up to her room. It had been 3:30 by the time the bus had dropped her off. She only had about three hours before her boyfriend and the rest of the group came to pick her up! Glancing at her calendar to check the date one more time, she saw the word "PROM!" written in big red block letters with smiley faces covering the square that represented May fourteenth. She'd been waiting for this day all year, and had been plotting with her boyfriend for about that long.

Well, she thought she'd been plotting with him. Lately, though, it seemed more like he'd been planning things without her, and he refused to give her any hints. All he'd told her was "it'll be fun. Trust me."

She'd shrugged. "Fine. Don't tell me. I don't care." Maybe reverse psychology would work...though it hadn't in the past and she hadn't any idea why it would work now.

Stanton had chuckled. "Suit yourself." Obviously her devious attempts at making him tell her had failed.

Kieran sighed now as she stripped off her school-smelling clothes and tossed them at the hamper, missing it completely. There was no way she was going to go to that dance smelling like her disgusting high school. La Brea high...She shook her head. She was so sick of that place. Only one month to go, though. She was so close to graduation, she could taste it. Walking across the hall into her bathroom, she turned the taps, letting the water heat up before she turned it down, making sure it was hot enough. Stepping into the warm spray from her waterfall showerhead, she began to sing.

Singing was her life - it was her soul. It kept her going. When she couldn't figure out how she was feeling, all she had to do was sing and it sorted out her emotions. That, and freewriting.

Now as she stood under her shower, lathering strawberry shampoo into her brownish-red hair, she found herself humming an oratorio quietly. She'd worked on this a little, but it was harder than she'd expected, filled with sixteenth-note runs for measures on end. Her coloratura was good, but it needed work.

Her hums stopped as she washed her face, not wanting to inhale the water, while she loved the way it smelled mixed with all her scented soaps. Stepping out of the shower, she wrapped herself in a baby blue towel and wrung her hair out into the tub. Her friends had always laughed at her when they'd seen her do that after swimming, or anything else that got her hair wet. The fact was, she hated water dripping down her back, and her hair had a tendancy to retain water. She'd had it thinned several times, and layered, then thinned again. Now it was still thick enough for her to play with and put up, but thin enough so that it wouldn't tangle when Stanton ran his fingers through it as he tended to do.

He loved her hair, and she loved that about him. She had promised him she'd leave it down tonight, though looking at it now she wanted nothing more than to go to a salon and have them curl it and pile it on top of her head and out of the way. Her hair was down to her lower back. When asked why she didn't cut it short, she shrugged. It felt wrong to cut her hair. While she complained constantly that it was a pain and she hated it, she could never cut it. It was too much of who she was. "The singer with the long hair."

She smiled, thinking of the first time Stanton had heard her sing. He'd called her a siren, and he kept the nickname up now, even among his friends.

Glancing at the clock, she realized she had two hours. _Hmm. I'd better blowdry my hair. It'll never dry in time if I don't, she thought to herself,_ and plugged the drier in. Thankfully, it had comb and brush attachments that made it a lot easier to work through her hair. It always tangled when she first got out of the shower, but calmed down once it dried. _Please don't get poofy,_ she begged it, and began running the comb/drier through her long locks.

Half an hour later, her hair was perfectly dry and slightly wavy. Just the way she liked it. Maybe she would have a good day after all. It certainly hadn't started out that way, with a test in one class, a pop quiz in the next, her voice cracking in choir, her flute remaining flat in band while she attempted to compensate by supporting more and more, someone running into her and nearly making her drop her lunch, a fight with one of her friends, and getting yelled at in the hall by a girl she didn't even know.

She hoped the dance went well. She didn't even know what was planned, only that Stanton had told her to be ready by six.

Running a softer brush through her hair, she walked towards her bedroom with the towel still wrapped around herself. Walking to her window, she closed the blinds most of the way, so she could see out but no one could seen in. Once that was done, she let the towel fall and slipped on a pair of underwear. Unfortunately, she couldn't wear a bra with this dress. It was strapless, and the back was cut fairly low to begin with. Sitting down on her bed, she ran a hand over each of her legs, deciding against putting lotion on them. Her thigh highs would be enough to cover any roughness, she realized as she began rolling them over her strong, tanned legs. One and a half hours!

She grinned as she knelt next to her night table, searching for her glitter lotion she had planned to use. Instead, she found a small container of Hello Kitty gel with hearts in it. She looked it over, considering it, then realized it would be perfect for decorating herself. She opened it with a bit of effort - when had she bought this? It must be old, she realized as she touched the slightly hardened gel. It was yellow with gold hearts. Would that go with her black and blue dress? Maybe not, but it would go with her necklace. Squeezing a bit of the gel onto her palm, she picked out enough heart sequins to create a heart shape on her chest. She pasted each heart with care on the swell of her chest, right above where she suspected the neckline of her dress ended, and admired her reflection in the mirror. So far, so good.

Her dress was almost built like a corset at the top, and she always needed help lacing it up at the back.

Just as she was putting her second earring into her ear, her cell phone rang, calling her to her nightstand, where she was finally able to see her glitter gel, which she picked up after answering with a smile. "Hello?"

"Hey, dance partner," Stanton said from the other end, and she could hear a smile in his voice. "Shame you couldn't come out with the rest of us, it was a lot of fun."

What? Had he left her behind? "What?" she asked aloud, confused and a little disappointed.

"I'm just teasing, Kia. Relax," he said in a more relaxed tone of voice. He'd never called her Kieran, except for the first time they met. He'd created the nickname "Kia" out of laziness, she suspected. "What are you up to?"

"Well, I'm trying to put on my dress," she admitted, stepping into it as she held the tiny phone on her shoulder with her head, trying hard not to drop it as she pulled the dress up over her body. "And also trying not to drop the phone. What are you doing? Where's everyone else?" she asked. She'd expected to hear loud music and other voices - the group was renting a party bus for the dance, and she was very excited about that.

"We're hiding the corseages," he said with an audible grin.

"You're what?" she asked, surprised. She'd bought him a boutenierre yesterday - teal carnations to match his vest, which he'd bought to match her dress, and black ribbons to match the rest of his tuxedo.

"We're hiding the corseages," he repeated. "Just a little game we thought you girls would enjoy...we intend to give you clues and send you searching for them. They're hidden in someone's backyard. I'll be driving you there, and we'll get the party bus from there," he said, and Kieran stared at the phone, struggling to tie the strings that held her dress together. It was like lacing a shoe, but from behind. "Speaking of 'there,'" he said mysteriously, and Kieran's phone dropped the call.

Or had he hung up on her?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Wow, I'm so glad you guys like this! I almost didn't expect you to, due to the Stanton/other character pairing, but that's awesome! (I usually don't read those either, by the way. I have no idea why I dreamed this, but I did…lol…so I figured I'd kinda go with it.) I actually have a solid idea for an ending for this one, but I'm not sure you guys are gonna like it…

-Cali :)

* * *

"Need some help with that?" a voice asked from behind her, and Kieran nearly jumped out of her skin - and her dress.

"How did you - what - you?" she stopped and turned around. "The door was locked, I'm sure of it," she told him, holding the top of her dress over herself. "I walked in and turned around and locked the door.

Stanton shook his head, amused. "Nope. Lucky for me, you left it unlocked. If you hadn't, I would've had to pick the lock," he told her, teasing. "Turn around. I'll help you," he offered. "I remember you complaining about this dress.

"I know, but it's so pretty," she said innocently, and he chuckled while she turned her back to him.Inhaling her strawberry shampoo, Stanton took a hand and gently brushed her hair away from her back, taking the opportunity to leave a teasing little kiss on her neck.

"Stantonnnn," she complained, though from the way her back had straightened, he suspected he'd sent plesant chills down her spine. He ran his fingertips gently down her back, between the sides of the dress he'd have to tie together, and just as he was about to take the strings, she stopped him. "Wait...I was going to put something on. Hang on a second," she said, and - still holding the dress over her body - grabbed the glitter lotion. "I'll be right back," she told him, shaking it as she walked out of her room and into the bathroom across the hall

Closing the door behind her, she came to a realization. Nobody except her and Stanton were in the house. That was strictly against her mother's rules. No boys allowed when there are no parents home. She was going to get in so much trouble if her mother came home! She did have to come home eventually, did she not? Especially since she knew today was Kieran's prom, and she'd wanted to help her daughter get ready. Where had she gone

She pondered places her mother could've run to as she spread glitter lotion around her arms, and a little into her back as well. Taking a bit of pure glitter, she poured it into her hair brush and ran it though her hair. Just because she was leaving it down didn't mean she couldn't make it sparkle too. She had a feeling she was going to regret it, though. It was going to get all over the dress..

Oh well

She glanced in the mirror and frowned. She looked paler than usual. "Well, that'd be because you don't have any makeup on," she told herself, and then gasped. "I let Stanton see me without makeup on?" She was horrified, and immediately began to wash her face when she heard a knock on the bathroom door

"Are you decent, love?" Stanton, asked, and she could hear the mischievous glint in his eyes. Before she could answer, he opened the door and stepped in, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I didn't think so," he added, and she responded with an indignant "hey!

Unfortunately, she didn't get very far in her protests before he silenced her with a kiss. "Turn around," he whispered against her soft, parted lips, making her want to beg for more kisses. Instead, she complied, and turned her back to him, facing the mirror as he pushed her hair over her shoulder so it wouldn't get tangled in the strings. She was glittering all over, and the hearts on her chest went well with her hair and earrings. She felt Stanton lace the string through loops in her dress like a shoelace, pulling them taut before making a bow at the top

He ran one hand up the rest of her back and to the nape of her neck. She was thin - his fingertips reached nearly to both sides of her neck when he stretched his fingers out. He twisted his wrist a little and wound his fingers into her hair, sighing as he pulled his fingers gently through it, letting it fall behind her

Kieran closed her eyes against his touch. She wanted it too much for her own comfort. "Don't..." she said quietly when he ran a hand down her side and zipped the second layer of fabric over the corset.

"Don't what?" he whispered into her ear, teasing her, feeling a mischievous smirk creep across his lips when he heard a fine tremor even in her breath. "Zip up your dress? I can undo that..." he said, walking two fingers up her side

"Stop it, Stanton," Kieran said sharply, turning to face him. "Mom could be home any second. How am I going to explain to her how I got the dress laced by myself? 'Oh yeah, I just got really flexible all of a sudden...it's not as hard as I thought it was gonna be.' Yeah, she'll buy that," she said sarcastically

Stanton chuckled. "All right. I'll leave. I let the others hide your corseage so I could come see you beforehand," he said, stepping a little closer to her. As he circled his arms around her waist, he heard her sigh. "I'll be back at six," he murmured, his lips brushing hers. They exchanged a brief kiss, and Stanton stepped out of the bathroom

Kieran sighed, feeling the familiar ache in her heart that seemed to occur every time he left her. "Stop it," she told herself sharply, and turned back to the mirror to finish her makeup. Rubbing a bit of glitter lotion into her shoulders, she smiled. She liked to sparkle and draw attention to herself

Once finished, she searched though her eye shadows until she found a glittering teal to match the sides of her dress, a bit of black to help blend her eyeliner, and a darker teal to shade her eyes. Painting over her lids carefully, she brushed the lighter teal on first with a fluffy brush that tickled, and then shaded in her crease with a thinner brush. With a sweep of her finger, she smoothed out the teals. Uncapping her opalescent black liner, she drew thin lines in her eyelashes, and then blended it with a little bit of black eyeshadow. "Perfect," she said aloud, and rolled a coat of mascara over her lashes, then finished the job up with a bit of concealer to hide the dark circles she was sure would never go away.

"Kieran!" she heard from the downstairs hall. "I'm home!"

_Finally,_ Kieran thought to herself, and stepped out of the bathroom. "Hi mom! What took you so long? I thought you wanted to help me get ready." She didn't show the disappointment in her face or voice.

Her mom smiled. "I am helping you get ready. Take a look at what I bought you," she said, and handed her daughter a bag. In it were a pair of blue topaz earrings that dangled down to her neck when she put them against her ears, and a matching necklace. The stones were cut into teardrop shapes, and were a beautiful blue that matched her eyes. The necklace was a Y chain with three small gold beads that lead to the larger teardrop at the end. When she put it on, it hung perfectly above the swell of her chest, drawing the eye to just that.

"Mom, look where this necklace makes you look. How awkward is that?"

"It isn't. You look beautiful, and your boyfriend will love it. I noticed you didn't really have any jewelry that matched this dress, so I went out and bought a bit. I hope you don't mind," her mother added. Then, much to Kieran's dismay, she was asked the one question she wasn't quite sure how to answer. "How did you get your dress on? You've never been able to lace it up without my help.

Kieran fumbled for a second. "Well, I - ah, er, you see," she began, then said the first thing that popped into her mind. "Cassandra was here to help me, then she left to get ready herself.

A scowl flickered across her mother's face. "Cassandra? Kieran, you know I don't like that girl," she said flatly, crumping up the paper bag from the jeweler's

"I know, but I can't figure out why, mom. She's perfectly nice..." Of course, Kieran had noticed little things about Cassandra she didn't like as well, like the fact that she was a cutter. She couldn't imagine ever doing anything like that to herself. The fact that her friend liked it just made her sick

"There's just something I don't like about her," Kieran's mom said, shaking her head

"Whatever," Kieran answered frustratedly. "So...um...what do you think?" she asked, changing the subject back to prom, and her outfit

Her mother smiled despite herself. "You look gorgeous, Kieran. My little girl's all grown up!" she exclaimed, kissing her daughter on the cheek

"Moooooooom," Kieran complained, rolling her eyes. "You'll mess up my makeup!"

"Sorry," her mom said with a bit of a sheepish smile. "So, when's Stanton coming? He's picking you up, right?

Kieran glanced at the clock, nodding. "Yeah, he is. He should be coming any minute now, it's almost six. We're going to dinner with a group of friends in a party bus," she gushed excitedly, and walked over to her purse to make sure she had everything in it she wanted. Pulling out a lipgloss, she smiled as she heard bass thudding in the street. That'd be her ride

When the bass didn't drift away, past her house, she grinned. "That's them," she told her mother, who smiled and went to look out the window

"What is that thing?" she wanted to know

Kieran laughed. "It's a party bus. Roomier than a limo, and easier to get out of," she added, and slung her purse over her shoulder. As she walked towards the door, she heard whistling and clapping, and opened the door to see Stanton walking towards her. She couldn't help staring at him, his blonde bangs hanging lazily into his eyes as he walked towards her with a half smile

"What happened?" she asked him. "I thought you were gonna come pick me up and we were gonna meet everyone somewhere.

Stanton kissed her lightly before answering. "There was a change of plans. Hi Mrs. Saunders," he added, saluting Kieran's mother, who laughed. She liked Stanton. "They didn't hide the corseage like I asked them to, so we have it with us," he told her, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear

"Can I take a picture of you two?" Kieran's mother asked, holding a camera up with a pleading smile.Kieran started to shake her head, but Stanton smiled. "Sure. Come on, Kia. You look great - let your mom take a picture so she can show you off next year when you're not around."

Stanton posed first with Kieran, smiling at the camera, then tilted her head up and back, and kissed her while her mother took a picture

"Awww," Kieran's mom said with a smile, and put the camera down. "All right, I'll stop. You two go have fun," she told them, and walked away to give them a bit of privacy

"Ready to go, Siren?" he asked, letting his eyes linger over her body. "I like your necklace, by the way," he added, and traced a line down the chain until she smacked his hand away

"Not here," she whispered quickly, and took his hand. "Let's go." When she stepped out and saw the white party bus with black windows she couldn't even begin to see through, she grinned. This was going to be fun.

* * *

**A/N:** So, chapter 2. Is it as good as you thought it was?  



	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** YAY! You like it! That makes me sooo happy! I wanna hear even if you don't like it, though. I have some solid plot ideas, so this should move along fairly quickly. It might even be pretty short (like this chapter (SORRY!)), but I can tell you it will be good and/or unexpected. :Evil Grin:

Enjoy!

-Cali :)

* * *

When the doors slid open to allow Stanton and Kieran to step in, the two other couples clapped and cheered. "You want something to cheer about?" Stanton asked, and dipped Kieran back in a prolonged kiss while she felt a blush rising to her cheeks.

"All right!" Kieran distinctly heard from the back of the bus, and Cassandra waved, grinning, and then whistled when Stanton straightened, still holding Kieran. "Hey gorgeous," she teased, walking over and wrapping her arm around Kieran's waist. "How's it going?

Kieran opened her mouth to respond, and Tymmie interrupted. "What about her corseage? I want to see it," he said, grinning at Stanton, who smiled and walked over to an empty seat, on top of which was sitting a clear box with a gold-tone string wrapped around it.

Inside was a teal rose with black edges, and gold ribbon, along with baby's breath. "Wow," Kieran found herself saying, and let Stanton slip it over her wrist. "This is really beautiful," she added, then suddenly realized she'd almost forgotten his boutenier, and sighed. "Hang on a second. I've got to go get your flower," the girl said with a smile and tilted her head up for a kiss.

Stanton touched her chin gently and pressed his lips to hers. When he pulled away, she was smiling. He couldn't help but smile back at her as she turned around and walked out of the party bus and back into her house.

"She's cute," Karyl said from the corner seat, mildly amused.

Stanton's smile dropped. "Yeah. She is," he agreed, and heard Karyl's thought before he spoke. "Tonight. After the dance," he insisted. "I'll turn her then.

"Oh goodie. Something to look forward to," Cassandra said, rolling her eyes a little. "Come on, why not before? Let her experience a dance in a whole new light," she suggested, leaning into Stanton a little bit.

Stanton backed away and sat down. "No. After. We'll have a bit of a party afterwords and let her go willingly into the cold fire. She is Lecta," he reminded them. "She will go after we turn her."

"We?" Yvonne asked, hanging on Tymmie's arm, raising an eyebrow. "There is no 'we'. She is yours to turn. You promised," she reminded him.

"Stanton, it's been almost two years.Your pupils are getting suspicious," Cassandra warned. "Why are you taking so long, anyway? You've just been trying to gain her trust, right? You can't tell me you really love her," she said, resting her hands on her hips.

Stanton said nothing, watching the girl they were discussing stand behind Cassandra, in the doorway of the party bus.

"Um," Kieran said quietly, holding a teal rose boutenier in her slender fingers, and the pins for it in her other hand. "I'm back," she added with a shaky sort of smile.

Cassandra mouthed "shit," silently to Stanton, and turned around. "Kieran, I'm -"

"Sorry? Nah...don't worry about it. Forget it...I didn't even hear it," she said with a smile that Stanton recognized as completely false. "I got your flower," she told Stanton, and he smiled a little awkwardly, but he knew she was trying to keep things calm, so he went along with it. "Let me pin it on you..."

Five minutes and two needlepricks later, Stanton had a gorgeous teal rose surrounded by black baby's breath and a black ribbon pinned to his lapel.

"That took a little longer than it should've," Kieran said with a laugh, and Stanton chuckled.

"Yes, well, I don't believe you've ever pinned a boutenier on a guy before," he told her, and she shrugged. She hadn't. "Also, the bus is moving. Movement and attempts to stay balanced do make things more difficult.

Kieran smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Yeah...

"Not tired, are you?" he asked, touching her cheek gently. When she shook her head, yawning a little, he smirked. "Well you'd better wake up...dinnertime," he added, having been watching through the windows while the bus pulled into the parking lot of a chinese restaurant

The driver opened the door and the group of six piled out, Stanton and Kieran last. "Thanks," Kieran called to the driver, who smiled a her while she took Stanton's hand. He pulled her aside once the other four had begun walking

"I want to talk to you," he told her gently, and she blinked"

"Okay...what about?" she asked, though his tone had told her that it wasn't anything that would upset her.

"I know you heard what Cassandra said," he told her, and tilted her chin up. Immediately, he saw pain and worry in her eyes, but she covered it quickly, the performer she was. "Don't hide from me, Kia," he whispered.

"I'm not hiding, I'm here," she said, confused, and he kissed her.

"You're hiding your emotions from me. You don't need to. I know she hurt you, and I know you're worried." When she opened her mouth to protest, he touched her lips gently with the tips of his long fingers. "Kia," he began, not quite sure what to say. He did feel for her, but he had to turn her..."No matter what Cassandra says, know that I care for you," he told her quietly.

Kieran bit her lip, looking into his brilliant - almost glowing - blue eyes. She had a question, but she wasn't sure if she should ask it, or if she really wanted to. Unfortunately, though, while she was considering what to do, her vocal chords moved without her consent. "Stanton, do you love me?" she asked timidly, and almost looked away. _Well you already said it - you may as well just watch his reaction,_ she thought to herself.

Stanton faltered. He didn't know what to say. He wasn't supposed to love her. She was a human, and he was an immortal. It would never...Through his thoughts, he realized suddenly that he wanted it to work. He _wanted _to be able to love her. Soon she would be an immortal as well, and it would be permissable. He smiled slowly and touched her cheek gently, drawing a line to her chin. He stopped close enough for their lips to touch. "What do you feel when I kiss you, Kia?" he asked, his warm breath caressing her lips.

Kieran closed her eyes and wrapped her arms longingly around his neck, and sighed involuntarily when his arms circled her waist as they kissed. He pulled away carefully, and kept their lips touching. "What do you feel?" he asked again, and she smiled a little.

"You do love me," she told him. "I can feel it...I...never considered it before, but you're right." Visibly relaxing, Kieran hugged Stanton, and he felt himself relax in response.

"Ready to go in?" he asked, and when she nodded, he pressed his lips to hers gently. "All right, then. Let's go." Breaking apart completely, he draped his jacket over Kieran's shoulders despite the warm air, and she smiled when he held the door open for her.

* * *

**A/N:** Review! If you like it, tell me. If you hate it, tell me anyway. Yay prom!  



	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Just a note, this is basically what my group did at prom. We went chinese food-ing, and the guys brought the food and they were so cute...and the girls did switch places, and the guys looked all confused. It was funny. The guys went and sat down with the wrong girls, and we all went "nyeh!" and ran back to our seats. They thought it was hilarious.

-Cali :)

* * *

The three couples sat in a dim, elegant private room, chatting for awhile.

Kieran found herself gazing into Stanton's eyes during a lull in conversation, thinking about how bright his blue irises were, and his lips curled into a slight smile. "What?" she asked, beginning to smile as well.

"Nothing," he said simply, and looked away. Suddenly Stanton glanced at his watch and stood from the table, motioning for the other guys to follow him. Before he walked away, he leaned over and kissed Kieran lightly.

Kieran, Cassandra, and Yvonne watched in confusion as the guys waved to them in unison, then left the room. "Where are they going?" Kieran asked, utterly lost.

Cassandra shrugged. "I have no idea. Hey, you guys wanna mess with them?" she asked, a mischievous grin spreading across her lips.

Yvonne's lips curled to match Cassandra's, and Kieran urged Cassandra to tell them her idea. "Why don't we all switch tables, and confuse them?"

Kieran laughed. She had expected something more...evil? No, not evil - mischievous. Well, it would be fun anyway. "Why not?" she asked, and picked up her purse. Nearly tripping over her dress, she switched tables with Cassandra while Cassandra walked over to Yvonne's table, and Yvonne sat down in Kieran's seat.

"What do you think they're doing?" Yvonne asked, looking at the wall in the direction the boys had gone. "Maybe they're like...hiding something. Or something."

Cassandra laughed. "Maybe they're off with three other girls," she teased, and both Yvonne and Kieran rolled their eyes.

"Yeah right," they chorused, and then looked at each other and laughed.

"Maybe they're - Oh," Kieran said, cutting herself off as she spotted the boys walking back into the room.

All three guys walked in with smiles on their faces that dropped rather suddenly into looks of confusion as they realized their girls weren't in the right seats anymore.

The girls broke into giggles as they watched the guys do doubletakes. Finally, the guys looked at each other and shrugged. Stanton sat down across from Yvonne, Karyl sat across from Kieran, and Tymmie sat across from Cassandra.

The girls stopped giggling and quickly got up, rushing back to their right seats while the guys laughed. Kieran folded her arms, jokingly upset. Stanton grinned and knelt next to her. "Will you ever forgive me?" he asked, smiling.

Kieran, unable to contain herself anymore, broke out laughing. Stanton kissed her cheek and sat back down in his seat across from her.

They began talking once more, and after awhile, Stanton looked at his watch again, kissed Kieran, and walked out of the room, trailed by the other guys.

"What now?" Yvonne asked, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

Looking at each other, the other two girls shrugged. They certainly didn't know. Little did they know the guys had a lot planned for this night. Kieran didn't even know the half of it, completely in the dark. After about five more minutes, the boys walked back in, carrying trays of food and napkins on their arms like waiters. Kieran's jaw dropped, and Yvonne said, "oh..."

Cassandra grinned. "Ah, a servant!" she exclaimed, breaking the awed silence, and everybody laughed. "Perfect."

Stanton set the tray down on the edge of the table, and served Kieran orange chicken, fried rice, and an egg roll, then served himself the same thing. Handing her a pair of chopsticks, and taking a pair for himself, he sat back down.

Kieran took the chopsticks in her right hand and attempted to pick up a piece of chicken. When she had the piece almost to her mouth, it slipped right through the chopsticks, and fell back onto the plate.

She looked up and noticed Stanton watching her, an amused look in his eyes. Laughing a little, she tried again. When she dropped it a second time, she sighed and tried once more. The chopsticks crossed in her hand and she effectively dropped the piece of chicken again. Giving up, she put the chopsticks down and picked up her fork.

About to stab a piece of orange chicken, she stopped, noticing a pair of chopsticks had picked it up for her. Stanton held the chopsticks facing her, and slowly moved them towards her mouth. Kieran smiled a little, and parted her lips just enough for the small piece of chicken to fit through. _Wow,_ she thought to herself as she chewed, _this is really good food_.

Stanton smiled as he watched her, and she leaned forward with her fork to pick up a piece of his chicken. He let her feed him, for once, not thinking about his promise to his pupils. He wasn't thinking about how to turn her, or when the best time would be. He was just living in the moment, happy with his girlfriend.

"Stanton," Kieran started, and he raised his eyebrows, letting her know he was listening. "About before...when I asked you..." she hesitated.

"When you asked me if I loved you," he finished for her quietly after swallowing.

Kieran nodded. "I...shouldn't have doubted you. I'm sorry. It's just that - "

"I know," Stanton told her, "and you have no reason to apologize. Your question was valid, and your worry understandable." He smiled at her, and she relaxed a little. "But," he continued, "if you need to hear it, I love you." He just barely stopped a look of surprise from crossing his own visage. He hadn't realized, until that moment, that he truly did love her. The words felt alien, but they felt _right_.

All conversation stopped at that point. "Oh," Kieran said quietly, and looked around, realizing everyone had fallen silent. She looked around and realized everyone was watching her, including Stanton. "I...um..." she said, uncomfortable in the silence. Cassandra, she noticed, wasn't just looking at her. She was glaring ice cold daggers. Blushing, Kieran looked down.

"So," Yvonne said loudly, breaking the awkward silence. "Where are our fortune cookies? We can't have chinese without those," she insisted, and Tymmie grinned, motioning for the guys to follow him.

The girls went silent again, Kieran playing with what was left of her fried rice, shaping it into a heart.

"How long have you been dating Stanton again?" Yvonne's tone was simply curious.

"Um," Kieran started, and cleared her throat, "about a year."

Yvonne simply nodded, and all the girls looked up when the boys walked back in, each carrying a small bowl with two fortune cookies each in it. Stanton set theirs down in the middle of the table and let Kieran choose hers first. He took the other one and immediately cracked it open. "'You like chinese food,'" he read off of the little slip of paper, and everyone laughed, releasing tension.

"'You are a strong believer in fate,'" Cassandra read off, and nodded, seemingly impressed.

"'You are his guiding star,'" Karyl read, and everybody laughed again. "I think this one should've been yours, Cassandra," he told her, and she grinned.

"Hmm," Yvonne said, and read hers. "'Your career will soon offer an exciting opportunity.' I have a career?"

"'Your existence proves nothing,'" Tymmie read with a raised eyebrow. "That's different. A morbid cookie..."

"What does yours say, Kieran?" Cassandra called across the room, grinning. All of theirs had been funny or wrong, or completely inappropriate for the holder, but Kieran's had sent a chill down her spine. For some strange reason, she felt that it was correct.

Kieran cleared her throat and read her fortune. "'A change is in the wind.'"

* * *

**A/N:** DUNDUNDUNNNNNNNNNNN! Lol...sorry, couldn't help it. Spread the love! 

REVIEW!

-Cali :)


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** This chapter was kinda fun to write. Also, we _finally _run into the DotM. I almost wasn't going to actually put them in this story 'cause I didn't want Stanton/Serena tension, but I decided it worked that way...er, they decided? I'm not sure I'm in control of this story anymore...lol. That's always fun, right? My stories usually get better when that happens. Lemme know if I'm right!

-Cali :)

* * *

"Okay," Yvonne said, breaking the silence again, "was anyone else weirded out by that last fortune?" She looked around. "Anybody?"

Kieran raised her hand and there were nervous chuckles from the group. "Yeah...um...so, are we ready to go?" she asked, looking around. Everyone seemed finished, and everyone had read and eaten their fortune cookies.

"I think so," Yvonne said, looking around.

"Let's hit the road," Cassandra agreed. "I'm ready to dance!"

Kieran smiled and wiped her fingers on her napkin to get any traces of sticky sauce off her hands, and then stood up, shouldering her purse.

Yvonne and Cassandra did the same, Cassandra stretching seductively before resting a hand on Karyl's arm.

Stanton bent his elbow gallantly, offering his arm to Kieran, and she rested her palm on his arm as they walked back to the bus. He let Kieran step in first, and then followed her, sitting down next to her in the back seat. Cassandra, Karyl, Yvonne, and Tymmie all filed in fairly quickly after that, choosing their seats.

"Ready to go?" the driver called back, and the entire group chorused, "yeah!"

Kieran grinned and Stanton hugged her with one arm. With his long fingers, he turned her head to face him and kissed her so thoroughly that she felt herself blushing.

Stanton only pulled away when Karyl tapped him on the shoulder. "Ahem. Save it for the afterparty," he said with a grin.

Kieran's blush deepened, and Stanton grinned at his friend, then turned back to Kieran. "Don't worry. It'll be fun," he assured her, and she smiled. "Just relax and have fun...and just so you know, you are blushing bright red," he added with a grin.

Kieran's lips pursed and she smacked his shoulder, much to everyone's amusement. "None of that," she said firmly, though she smiled, and searched through her purse. Pulling out a bit of Bonnebell Lip Rush, she rolled it over her lips. Stanton smiled, and she licked her lips. She knew he liked that lip gloss. It tasted like candy, due to the sugar in it. Yes - there really was sugar listed in the ingredients for that gloss. She had gotten the strawberry flavored tube.

Stanton watched her, debating for about five seconds, and then couldn't help but kiss her again. Lightly, though, this time.

Kieran smiled. She was so happy with him...She hoped they would stay together for a long time. Listening to conversation and loud, booming music, she relaxed, leaning on Stanton's shoulder with their fingers laced. Suddenly, Yvonne squealed. "We're there!" she said, and stood up, dancing to the music that was playing. Cassandra whooped and joined in while everyone else watched. Kieran was less eager to dance in front of everyone. She liked dances, but she just didn't feel this beat yet.

The bus stopped and the two girls nearly fell over, giggling. Once the door opened, they all rushed out, excited.

"Let's go!" Cassandra exclaimed, dragging Karyl and searching through her purse for their tickets as she walked.

Yvonne walked quickly to keep up with Cassandra, and Tymmie followed.

"Meet back here at midnight!" Stanton called to his friends, all of whom were rushing to the doors, ready to dance.

Kieran walked with Stanton, feeling her energy level start to rise as she realized she could feel the booming bass all the way out here. She grinned. "I can already feel the music."

Stanton brushed a hand down her back and watched her straighten. "That's not all you feel," he teased, and ran his hand to the side, around her waist.

Kieran didn't push him away. Instead, she relished the feeling he was giving her and felt her adrenaline begin to pump through her veins. Her pace began to speed up and she found herself walking to the beat of the music.

"Getting excited?" Stanton asked with a smile, and left a kiss on her temple.

Kieran grinned, and let her stride take on a more confident note as her hips swung more. She didn't even push Stanton away when he rested his hand on her hip instead of her waist. When she walked over to the table where school administrators were taking tickets and checking IDs, the administrator stopped what he was doing and stared at her for a second before realizing she was a student. "Ticket and ID," he said, and Kieran searched through her purse.

She handed him her ticket, and Stanton's. Much to her confusion, Stanton hadn't taken out an ID, but the administrator waved them both in anyway, handing Kieran back her ID, which she stuffed back into her purse.

"Thanks," she called back to him, and turned to Stanton. "How come he didn't check you?"

"He knows me," he explained flippantly. He couldn't tell her. Not yet. He wanted her to have fun at the dance. "Do you want to check your purse?" he asked, pointing to a slight line at the makeshift coat-check room.

"Oh - yeah. Let me just do one thing," she said, and took her lipgloss out of her purse. After rolling a little more on her lips and rubbing it in, she put the tube of gloss in her cleavage, looking up at Stanton.

He raised an eyebrow. "Save it for the afterparty, Kia," he purred in her ear, and she closed her eyes with a little sigh, enjoying the chill he sent down her spine. "Just her purse," he said to the lady who was watching them, waiting to see what they wanted to check. She took it and put it into a brown paper bag with the number 254 on it.

"Two-fifty-four," she told them, and Kieran took the slip of paper she handed her, pushing it down her dress along with the lip gloss. "Have fun, you two."

"We will," Stanton said, watching Kieran, and wrapped his arm around her waist to guide her into the gym, where the dance was being held. Everything had been decorated, and there was a chocolate fountain at the side of the floor, along with a few cakes and chips, and a soda fountain.

"Wow," Kieran said.

Stanton nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

"I just hope the deejay is decent," she added, rubbing her lips together to help her lipgloss soak in more.

"He is," Stanton assured her. He knew this one - he had deejayed at the Dungeon once or twice, and those nights had always been filled with good music and dancers. "I know him," he explained at her quizzical look. "He's a good deejay. If you'll excuse me, I'd like to get a glass of water - want anything?"

"Sure, ah, water's good." She wanted to be a littel hydrated before she started really dancing. They were in the hall just outside the gym.

"Kieran!" A voice called to her, and she turned to face Vanessa Cleaveland. "Wow, gorgeous dress! Who's your date?"

Kieran smiled. Vanessa was a friend - well, more of an acquaintance, really, but they definitely knew each other. "Hey Vanessa. Thanks," she said in response to the comment about her dress. "I like yours too," she admitted with a smile. Vanessa was wearing a shimmery light blue gown with spaghetti straps, her long blonde hair all done up in curls and glitter. "And your hair," she added. "Um, I'm here with Stanton."

Something flashed across Vanessa's face that Kieran couldn't quite catch before it disappeared. "That's cool," she said, and turned when she heard her date call her. "I gotta go. Have fun," she said, and walked over to Michael Saratoga.

Kieran just couldn't understand what Vanessa saw in him. Sure, he was in a band, and he was kind of cute, but did he have a personality? Stanton was...mysterious. She liked that about him. It was like a game to her, trying to figure him out. "Hey, Serena!" Kieran called to her when she and Jimena passed her, both dressed amazingly and looking like goddesses in their long gowns with theirhair in curls, or pinned out of the way. "Wow, you guys look incredible," she gushed.

"So do you," Serena said with a smile. "I love your dress. Where did you get it?" She walked around Kieran, pushing her hair away so she could see the real cut of the dress. "And who convinced you to leave your hair down?" she asked, grinning.

"There are so many _vatos_ watching us," Jimena told her friend with a grin. "Where's your date, Kieran?" she asked, looking around.

Just at that moment, Stanton walked up behind Kieran and handed her a glass of water. "Thanks," she said with a smile. "Stanton, this is Serena and Jimena," she said, gesturing to them.

* * *

**A/N:** Dundundunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn...More ominous music. Yay! I like the way this one went.

Do you?

Review!

(Heehee, that rhymes...)

-Cali :)


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** I love to write dance chapters. They're so...fun? Sexy? I dunno. Something. I like 'em. Talk about tension in this chapter...Lemme know what you guys think!

Feel special - you're getting two installments in one day. I've been a-writin'! Ehehe.

-Cali :)

* * *

"We've met," Jimena said coldly, but Serena said nothing. Kieran could feel the tension rise as Serena glared into Stanton's eyes.

"Serena," he said, acknowledging her. She still said nothing to him. Instead, she grabbed Kieran's arm roughly.

"We need to talk. Now."

"Meet me on the floor," Kieran called to Stanton as Serena and Jimena roughly dragged her away, into the girls' bathroom. What were they going to do? Beat her up? "If you two are going to beat me up, can I just warn you that I have a really good right hook, and really strong legs? Also, I can't really feel anything through the top of this dress, so you'll have a hard time hurting me."

Serena gave her a funny look. "We're not going to beat you up, Kieran. We have to warn you about Stanton."

"Warn me about Stanton? What, does he play girls?" Kieran asked, skeptical.

"She has no idea, does she? You have no idea," Jimena said first to Serena, then to Kieran. "Look, _chica_, Stanton has been alive since the thirteenth century. He is a follower of the Atrox."

Kieran stared.

Serena sighed. This was always the hard part. "You know the Pandora's Box myth?" she asked. Kieran nodded. "It isn't a myth." With that, she went through the whole explanation of what Stanton was, and almost grudgingly, what she, Jimena, Vanessa, and Catty were. "We are the goddesses - the daughters of Selene, sent here to save the world from the Atrox. Stanton is the Prince of Night. He's done...horrible things to get that position. Kieran, you don't know what you're getting into. If you go back to him tonight, he'll try to turn you to their side. Come back with us - we'll keep you safe."

Kieran stared at the two for a few minutes before she began to laugh. "You're joking, right?" she said, grinning. The girls both still had serious faces.

"You think this is funny?"Jimena asked, her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, I do," Kieran said, and laughed. "You guys are so obviously joking around. Pandora's box, real? Yeah, right. And I'll be elected prom queen," she said wryly. "Look, if this is some ploy to get me to break up with Stanton, it won't work."

"You'll only get hurt," Serena warned gently, and Kieran frowned. Why had there been so much tension between the two of them? What had happened before - did they know each other?

"Serena," Kieran started, turning completely from Jimena, "what happened between you and Stanton?" she asked gently, and Serena turned away.

"Nothing of your concern," she said quietly.

"Then why are you trying so hard not to tell me?" Kieran asked, using one of Stanton's tactics. He always used this type of wording and tone when Kieran refused to tell him anything. "Talk to me, Serena. I'm not going to hurt you."

"You already have. Look..." She sighed. "I used to...Stanton was...my boyfriend. For a really long time," she explained quietly.

"But if what you say is true, then you're -"

"I know, total opposites. It wouldn't have worked...shouldn't have...I was stupid to think it was real," she said harshly, but Kieran heard the pain in her voice. "So stupid...eventually, he tried to turn me - not on purpose, but he did...it scared me, and it scared him. He broke up with me, telling me he couldn't risk turning the tides in the Atrox's favor...I was afraid he would turn me again, and I...didn't fight him." Serena's pain was so evident, Kieran almost believed their whole story about pandora's box and their goddesshood. "Apparently, he's moved on," she added, finally looking at Kieran.

The girl shook her head. "You two really are something," she said in amazement. "You put on such an amazing act. It's so cool - you guys should go into theater. Really." She was being completely sincere. Serena and Jimena put on quite the drama. They were great at evoking emotion, and making other people feel sorry for them. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go find my boyfriend. Have fun," Kieran said, and turned her back on the girls.

Jimena caught her arm when it swung back. "You'd better watch your back, _chica_. It's not me you've gotta worry about. If you don't believe us, it's your funeral," she said, and let go when Kieran jerked her arm away.

Shaking her head, she stormed out of the bathroom, looking for Stanton. How could he be evil? He was so incredibly sweet and romantic, and gentle...he couldn't be. They had to be telling stories. None of that seemed real to her. Of course, there were a couple of things that made her wonder, like the way she could still tell how blue Stanton's eyes were even in pitch dark, and the way he seemed to read her mind sometimes.

But that was just because he knew her well, right? "Stanton!" she called, and looked around for him. She expected to see him dancing with someone, but when he called her name, she found him sitting at a table to the side, waiting for her. "Hi," she said with a smile.

"Hi," he greeted her, and smiled back. "So, what did Serena and Jimena want?" If she was going to worry about it like he knew she was, he was going to cut to the chase and ask her.

Kieran sat down next to him with a sigh. She chuckled a little. "You're going to think I'm crazy," she warned him. "Um, Stanton...are you evil?" she asked bluntly, feeling herself blush - but she had to ask. She had to hear him say no.

Stanton laughed and shook his head. "They told you I was evil?"

"That's not all they told me. They told me they were goddesses and the Pandora's box legend was real, and a bunch of other stuff...Serena told me you two were..." she hesitated. "That you -"

"-Yes, we were an item, and I did break it off."

Kieran continued. "She told me you broke it off because you accidentally turned her evil once and it freaked you out, and you didn't want to risk it again," she said quickly, feeling incredibly stupid to be telling him all this.

Stanton smiled and shook his head. "Turn her? Look - it's prom, Kia. Why don't we dance?" he asked, standing. Normally Kieran might've pushed him to tell her, but she didn't want to now. Right now, she did want to dance. She wanted to dance and have fun with her boyfriend, and that was exactly what she was going to do.

Stanton held out his hand, and Kieran took it. He led her to the dance floor and she immediately forgot everything Serena and Jimena had mentioned to her. Rolling her hips to the heavy, machine-gun fire beat of the music, she teased Stanton. She knew she could dance, and she intended to show off her skills. Listening to the music, she realized it was a song she liked and often turned up when she heard it in her car. Letting her hips swing and her hair fly, she drew her hands down Stanton's strong arms. She loved his arms, and always felt so safe in his embrace.

Stanton pulled her against him and rolled his hips against hers, teasing her as he ran his hands up and down her body. Kieran reached up and let her arms wrap themselves around Stanton's neck. Gently, he wrapped his around her waist and pulled her in for a kiss. He grinned internally when he felt Kieran sigh against his lips.

Cassandra danced over the two of them and beckoned - not to Stanton - to Kieran. The girl grinned and walked, hips swinging, over to her friend. They began to dance, rolling their bodies against each other and teasing the guys around them. Before they knew it, a circle had formed, watching them dance. The guys clapped and whistled as Cassandra ran her hands over Kieran's body, showing it off and emphasizing her hourglass. Kieran shook her hair out, throwing glitter everywhere, and grinned when Yvonne quickly stepped into the glitter and began to dance with the other two, rolling her hips in sync with them.

Stanton stood at the edge of the circle, close to the dancers to watch them. Soon, however, he decided enough was enough and he wanted to dance with his date. He stepped from the circle and pulled Kieran out of the trio of rolling bodies and hands, letting his wander slowly over her body while she continued to roll her hips in time with the music. He sighed when she dragged her hands over his strong arms and chest, and took his jacket off, throwing it to Tymmie, who grinned and gave Stanton a thumbs-up.

Turning around, Kieran let him run his fingers through her hair and his hands around her waist while she stretched her arms up, lengthening her body and giving him more to run his hands down. When his hands began to run back up the front of her body, she let her arms fall around his neck and leaned her head on his shoulder. Stanton leaned in and kissed her neck, grinning when he felt her muscles tense.

They danced together, leaning back until Stanton could almost touch the floor, then straightened quickly. Stanton took the lead and swung Kieran into his arms, then upside down and around his back in a fast swing-dancing motion. The circle applauded and Kieran laughed when Stanton dipped her back to kiss her, drawing whistles from the crowd.

Kieran giggled, and made her way back through the circle, letting Cassandra and Yvonne have the spotlight. When she turned back, they were dancing with Stanton, who looked almost uncomfortable. Kieran smiled and walked to the soda fountain, filling up a glass. A couple of guys walked over to her, talking about her moves, and she smiled and laughed with them until Stanton came over and kissed her. Then they walked away, and she laughed. "Fine, chase all the other guys away. They're all scared of you, you know," she told him.

Stanton smirked. "They should be," he said, teasing her.

"And why's that?"

"I'm evil, remember?" he asked, reminding her about the conversation she'd had with Serena and Jimena in the bathroom that she'd almost forgotten about until now. "Relax, will you?" he took a marshmallow and shoved it into her mouth. "Have some fun," he added, and Kieran, chewing and laughing, threw another marshmallow at him, missing completely and hitting someone else.

"Sorry!" she called through her laughter and marshmallow, and Stanton dragged her back out onto the dance floor.

* * *

**A/N:** Hmm. If I'm not careful, Stanton's gonna turn into my boyfriend...that whole shoving-a-marshmallow-in-her-mouth thing is _so_ something my guy would do...(Note to self: Keep Stanton in character.)

Just a warning, next chapter's gonna be verrrrrrrry interesting. I upped the rating, as you can see, due to what's gonna be in there.

Anywho...REVIEW!

-Cali :)


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Okay, so I just ended my "lucky chapter 7" streak...lol. What seems to happen in my stories is, if there's going to be a sex scene or a "sexy" scene, it's always chapter 7. I suppose this kind of counts, but the real scene is the next chapter.

I had fun with this chapter...kind of reminds me of my prom night..."Ow my feet" was my catchphrase that night. Kinda sucked, but it was so worth it.

-Cali :)

* * *

Kieran flopped down into a seat at a table, unbuckling her shoes. "Ow, my feet," she complained, rubbing her toes. "I will not be able to walk tomorrow."

Stanton smirked, sitting down next to her. "It's those shoes you girls insist on wearing. Why, if you're going to be standing for three hours, would you wear three-inch heels?" He shook his head and glanced at the clock on the wall. "It's almost over, anyway."

As he spoke, the deejay confirmed his suspicion that the dance was almost over. "Just two more songs, folks, and then the night is over," he said into the microphone, and began playing a slow song. Stanton watched Kieran rub her feet.

"Think you can handle two more songs?" he asked, smiling as he watched Kieran point her toes, trying to stretch them. He wanted to slow dance with her one more time before he turned her.

Kieran weighed her options. She could try to fix her feet for the rest of the night, or she could deal with a little pain for a little while longer and dance with her boyfriend, and fix her feet later. "Okay," she said, and left her shoes at her chair when Stanton offered her his hand.

He steered her to an open place on the floor and pulled her close, resting his cheek against hers. They danced for awhile in each others' embrace until Stanton pulled back to look into her eyes. Stroking her cheek tenderly, he touched his lips to hers. When she let her palm slip up the back of his neck, he responded by deepening the kiss. Kieran sighed audibly and Stanton pulled away. "I love you," she whispered against his lips.

"I love you," he responded without hesitation. God, he was torn. He had to turn her, but he loved her. But, he reminded himself, if he turned her, he _could_ love her.

Could he really do that to her? Condemn her to a life like his just because he wanted to be with her? His answer came back as a resounding _no_. He couldn't...but he had to.

"Kia," he started, but couldn't finish his thought. He didn't even know where to start.

"Stanton," she said with a bit of a mischievous glint in her eyes, "what would you say to leaving a little early?" As she spoke, she pressed her body against him, grinding her hips into his.

He raised an eyebrow at her suggestion and action. "Mm..." he murmured into her ear, and pulled back further to look at her. "Are you sure?" he asked before he could stop himself, then shook his head. "No - we can't. We don't have transportation, and we have to meet the others outside at midnight," he reminded her with a sigh, and kissed her.

Just then, the song ended and a new one began with a faster beat. "Let's go outside," Kieran suggested. Stanton left her momentarily to ask Tymmie where his jacket had gone, and the girl caught a glimpse of Serena watching her. She walked back to the table at which she had left her shoes, and began to buckle them back around her ankles, having a little trouble. She could feel Serena's eyes on her. "Found your jacket?" she asked Stanton when he came back with a black tuxedo coat slung over his arm. "Good, let's go," she said quickly, eager to get away from Serena's gaze. She felt weird now that she knew she was dating Serena's ex.

She didn't know how she could know Serena was still watching her while she walked out of the gym, but she did. She could feel the other girl's gaze on her, and it was incredibly disconcerting. They waited in a short line to pick up Kieran's purse, and once they had it, they walked out into the cool night air.

"Stanton, why didn't you tell me about Serena?" she asked suddenly, before she could stop herself.

Stanton draped his jacket over her shoulders when he saw her rub her arms. "I didn't think it would matter. I also didn't think you knew her," he added, and slung an arm around her shoulders. "I'm sorry."

Kieran sat down on a bench with a sigh, reapplying her lip gloss, and then putting it back into her purse. "I don't know. Something doesn't seem right," she told him, and looked up into the stars. Stanton sat down next to her. "New moon tonight," she noted. "So that's why it's so dark."

"The dark can be rather alluring," Stanton reminded her, and traced her jawline with the tip of his finger, turning her head towards him. He kissed her then, gently at first, then more passionately. Kieran gave a little moan and Stanton chuckled quietly, his laughter muffled by her kisses. Now that most of the glitter from her hair had fallen out, he had no qualms about running his fingers through it. She sighed in response and he pulled her onto his lap, holding her tightly.

"Hey, lovebirds," Yvonne called from the doorway, announcing the presence of others. "Ready to hit the road and party?" she asked, grinning as she hung on Tymmie's arm with his jacket draped over her shoulders.

Kieran grinned. "I'm ready. Stanton?" she asked, turning to him.

When he stood, holding her in his arms, she giggled. "I think so," he said, and began walking to the party bus still carrying Kieran. "We're going back to the squat," he told her as he sat down in the back seat of the bus again, keeping her on his lap. Cassandra flopped down onto a seat next to Karyl, and Yvonne sat down next to Tymmie, all bursting with energy. They weren't tired, but Stanton was. He was going to have to make a hard decision soon, and the idea was wearing him out.

Kieran traced lines over his chest when he let her slip off his lap, watching his muscles. She loved that he was so strong.

Taking her hand off his chest with gentle fingers, he kissed the tips of hers one by one, then leaned in. When she relaxed and leaned into the kiss, he moved back, teasing her. She moved forward and he kept leaning back. Stanton only gave in and stopped teasing her when he found himself lying across the seat in an effort to lean back more. As she pulled away, he leaned in a little and bit her lip gently.

She squeaked in response, and was immediatley thankful for the distracting music the others were paying attention to. Stanton grinned at her squeak and kissed her lips gently, then the corner of her mouth, then her cheek, moving down the side of her neck as he brushed her hair off her shoulder. When she tilted her head back almost involuntarily to give him easier access, he moved to the side and drew a line of kisses down her throat. He moved a little further down, and Kieran jumped.

"Stanton!" she protested, and snapped her attention back to the others, who were thankfully still ignoring the pair.

"What?" he asked innocently as he slowly made his way back up to her lips, hesitating long enough to send a shock through her when their lips finally met. Stanton brushed strands of hair behind her ear and pressed his tongue through her lips and against her teeth, telling her he wanted more. Her eyes shot open - she hadn't expected to react the way she had..._Oh my,_ she thought when they came up for air.

Stanton gazed at her almost hungrily, and the spell was broken when they lurched forward as the bus stopped.

"We're here!" Yvonne exclaimed.

"Time for the real party to begin," Cassandra added, and stood waiting for the door to open. When they finally did, both girls whooped and grinned as they saw other cars pulling up to the building. The boys followed their dates out and left Kieran and Stanton.

"Ready to go?" Stanton murmured into Kieran's ear. When she shivered, he smirked, and moved so he was hovering above her lips. "I'll take that as a yes, then," he said, drawing a finger down her throat and down her necklace. He watched her neck muscles tense as he breathed in her anticipation, and then pulled away.

Kieran couldn't keep a little disappointed sigh from escaping her lips when he moved away and stood, extending a hand to help her up. They stepped out of the bus, fingers entwined, and Stanton was immediately surrounded by his friends. "Hey, man!" Kieran heard as she was shoved into the crowd, away from Stanton.

"This is going to be an awesome party," another voice said. "I brought a-"

"If you'll excuse me," she heard Stanton say gently, but effectively, and he walked through the crowd, back over to Kieran. "This is Kieran, everyone," he told them, introducing her.

She smiled, waving a little, and everyone greeted her, immediately accepting her. "Nice to meet you all," she said a little nervously, holding onto Stanton's arm.

Immediately, she was surrounded by girls. "I love your dress," a blonde said.

"Where did you get it?" asked another.

"It looks so amazing on you."

"Your hair is so pretty. I wish I had hair like that..."

Kieran opened her mouth to respod, but Stanton cut her off. "If you'll excuse us, everyone, we'd like to go inside." The crowd let them through, and Stanton opened the door for Kieran.

"Welcome to my home," Stanton said, gesturing as she stepped over the threshold.

As soon as Kieran walked in, she was bombarded by people, loud music, and the smell of alcohol. A bunch of people were playing video games on a Sony TV in the corner while others danced to the music that was blaring from a set of speakers, holding plastic cups Kieran could only assume held beer.

"Hey, you look like you could use this," a guy she didn't recognize said, holding out a blue plastic cup to her. "Promise it's not spiked with anything interesting," he added, and winked. "I'm Murray."

She looked him over before taking the cup from him. His hair was blonde and combed into a ducktail.

"Kieran," she said, and she felt herself relax when an arm she recognized circled her waist from behind.

"Hey Stanton," Murray said a little awkwardly. "Great party," he added, and walked away.

Kieran raised an eyebrow at the fear she'd seen on his face. That was odd. A lot of people, she knew, were a little wary of Stanton, but she didn't think anyone was actually afraid of him, especially not his own friends. She sipped the beer Murray had given her, relieved when she didn't taste anything weird. "I kind of like the way you don't have to say anything to make them go away," she told him honestly, and he smiled.

"Shall I take you on a tour?" His lips tickled theedge of her ear as he spoke and brushed his hand over her waist, moving to her back so he could guide her. They walked around as he showed her a couple of rooms, and then back into the dancers.

"More dancing?" Kieran asked a little reluctantly, but she found herself already beginning to move with the beat of the music.

Stanton chuckled. "Not if you don't want to," he told her, and pulled her close so she was looking straight up at him as they danced, moving their hips together. "We could always do something else," he said suggestively, and ran the tips of two of his fingers up her back.

She tensed, and her intake of breath shook in response. Stanton felt her sigh against his lips and closed his eyes. "What did you have in mind?" she asked, raising an eyebrow though she knew perfectly well what he was thinking.

Stanton kissed her lips lightly, biting her lower lip ever so gently when she pulled away. "There's one room I haven't shown you yet." Wrapping his arm around her waist, he led her out of the dancers and up the stairs.

* * *

**A/N:** Okay, I pulled the rating back up because I want more people to read this (I'm proud of my work...Lol), but because of that I have to warn you all about the next chapter. It happens to be a sex scene, pretty much entirely. YOU CAN SKIP TO CHAPTER 9 without losing any plot. These last few chapters are suggestive enough as it is, lol. I'm sure you get the idea of what they're about to do. :AHEM:

So...I just felt the need to warn y'all.

Review/Flame/Torture/Worship...all is welcomed. :Grinny:

-Cali :)


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Well, my loyal fans (or at least fan, lol), here it is, the chapter you've all been waiting for...kinda... It always takes me so damn long to write these 'cause I have trouble writing them when there are people around (the characters don't want to help then), and there are always people around now. >.

Something to amuse you (or at least me):

Me: What's another word for "relying"? I have two "relying"s in one sentence and it's annoying meeee...

My friend: ...Depending?

Me: Hey, that works...

Well, I'll shut up now. I hope you like this!

-Cali :)

* * *

Opening the third door on the right, Stanton let Kieran walk in first. "It's not much," he admitted, "but it's a place to sleep-" he paused "-among other things." As he spoke, he drew his fingertips down Kieran's bare arms, delighting in the chill he could almost see race down her spine. With his right hand, he brushed Kieran's long, silky hair over her shoulder, and kissed the back of her neck, moving slowly around to her throat. As he leaned over, Kieran leaned her head back and to the side, depending almost entirely on his left arm to keep her standing. When he reached her throat, he held her close to him for a few seconds, then spun her around and dipped her, relying on her loss of balance to keep his plan working. When she fell into his arms as he had expected, he lifted her and carried her over to his bed, dropping her unceremoniously ontoit.

She laughed when he dropped her, and he smirked, tossing his tuxedo jacket, which she'd given back to him earlier, onto the floor. He'd take care of it later. Right now, he had more..._pressing_ matters. Climbing onto the bed, he straddled Kieran's legs, kicked off his shoes, and leaned down to kiss her. As he did, he moved his legs over to her other side so he could get to her shoes.  
Pulling away from her, he knelt on his bed and unbuckled her three-inch heels - he liked her shorter anyway - and tossed them across the room. His hands crept up the skirt of her dress, inching up her legs to the top of her thighs.

Kieran bit her lip, feeling a little awkward. She'd never let a guy get this close to her before, and it felt weird to let him. She jumped when she felt Stanton pull both of her shimmery thigh-highs off, running his hands down her legs.

Stanton smirked when her legs almost automatically snapped together and crossed. The smirk still plastered onto his lips, he crawled up over her body, straddling her crossed legs. "Turn over," he whispered against her lips, and she did. There was a sort of command in his voice she wasn't used to, but for some odd reason, she liked the chills it sent down her spine.

As she turned, he ran his hands over her body and unzipped the outer layer of her dress. Then, without hesitation, he pulled the strings that tied her dress together, effectively untying the bow. Slowly now, he pulled at each "x" the strings made until the corset-like top of her dress loosened. He pulled the sides of the torso apart, completely exposing her back, and traced lines down her spine with his fingertips. Kieransighed quietly when his lips touched her back, enjoying the feel of his breath on her bare skin. Carefully, she turned back around, and he lifted her easily with one arm, sliding her dress off.

Her arms immediately crossed over her chest, hiding herself. Stanton chuckled and took her arms with one hand, pinning them above her head by the wrists.

"Hmm," he said pensively, "trapped girl. I like the look," he teased as she struggled under him, trying to cover her chest and get her wrists out of his grip.

"Ha-ha," Kieran said wryly, but couldn't keep the smile off her face.

Stanton's smirk returned, and he kissed her, keeping her pinned where she was. He moved from her lips to her cheek, then to nibbling her ear a bit, chuckling when she squeaked. Lazily, he drew swirling designs over her bare torso when the tip of his finger, slowly moving down.

"Hey," Kieran protested, stopping his hand before it could creep any further down. His grip on her wrists loosened when she spoke - she'd surprised him - and she took advantage of this, pulling her hands out of his. She poked his chest. "My turn."

With little effort, mostly just because he wasn't fighting her, she pushed him down onto his back, and easily unbuttoned his vest. Pulling him into a sitting motion with a yank, she threw the vest across the room, paying no attention to where it landed somewhere near her shoes. Stanton flung his bowtie off, but didn't get to see where it landed as Kieran pounced on him again.

As they kissed, she unbuttoned and untucked his shirt, running her hands along his rock hard stomach muscles. As she worked the shirt off his body, she ran her hands down his arms, and then around to his hard back muscles.

"Mm," Stanton murmured, still kissing her, and pressed his tongue against her lips. Almost automatically, her lips parted to allow their tongues to dance.

As they sat liplocked, Kieran worked at Stanton's pants until she figured out how to loosen them and get them off of him, which she did, with a little help from him. As soon as that was done, she nodded. "Now we're even," she told him, and he smirked.

He ran his fingertips down her sides, and she shivered. As she watched, a mischievous glint appeared in his bright blue eyes, and they almost seemed to glow with it. She didn't have time to inspect it further, as he essentially pounced on her, flipping them back over. Instead of straddling her, though, he left her legs around him.

After kissing her lips lightly, he moved down and dragged his teeth along the side of her neck. Kieran jumped at the chill he sent through her, and tensed when he moved from her neck to her chest, caressing her breasts gently with his right hand while drawing a line of kisses down her body. When he reached below her belly button, he felt her muscles tense.

"Relax, Kia," he said, the smirk never leaving his lips as he drew a line of kisses down her left leg, abandoning her chest so he could use his right hand to slip off the underwear she was wearing. "Sexy," he commented, holding them up with one finger, surprised she hadn't tried to fight him.

"Shuttup," Kieran muttered, feeling a blush rise into her cheeks. Stanton only chuckled, and began kissing her again, letting his hands wander over her body.

Kieran sighed when he slipped his arms around her back and pulled her close to him. She could feel his muscles pressing up against her - _all_ of his muscles - as he teased her. Kieran found her legs almost involuntarily entwining with his as they lay in each others' arms, and soon found her hands wandering over his body the way his were wandering over hers. She felt, rather than heard, Stanton give a little moan. The girl would've smiled if she hadn't been happily liplocked with him.

Letting his right hand wander over her body, under his, Stanton drew lines over her skin until he felt her tense and pull away from him. "Shh..." he whispered, and began to play with her. When he heard Kieran gasp quietly, he knew she had gotten rid of her nerves. "You okay?" he asked gently, checking to make sure he hadn't hurt her. When she nodded, he smirked. "Good." His whisper caressed her lips, making his job a bit easier. As he kissed her, his hand worked gently between her legs, teasing her terribly. "Kia," he sighed into her ear, and he felt her tense a bit before moving to her neck.

He remembered the reaction he'd gotten before when he'd almost bitten her, so he repeated the action, dragging his teeth against the side of her neck. Immediately, her neck muscles tightened and Stanton chuckled, moving up to nibble her earlobe. Kieran's breathing began to get a bit ragged, and he tilted her head back with a finger to kiss her throat, drawing lines up and down her neck while he did.

Suddenly, Kieran found herself holding her breath, and the butterflies that had been flapping around in her stomach moved to her lower abdomen, causing all her muscles to tense, and her body temperature to rise under Stanton's hands.

He continued kissing her neck, and felt her pulse flutter under his lips. Tremors ran through her body and he sped up his motions, still kissing and biting her neck. Kieran's muscles tightened and her fingernails dug into Stanton's back. He winced, but didn't slow his motions until he felt Kieran's muscles relax and she stopped holding her breath.

Breathing hard, Kieran removed her hands from his back. "Did I scratch you?" she asked, realizing her fingers had been curled in.

Stanton chuckled. "Is that all you can say?" he asked, reaching back to see if he was bleeding. When she repeated her question, sounding like she felt bad, he smiled a little. "Yes, actually."

"Sorry," Kieran said quickly, reaching up to his back.

Stanton, though, quick as lightning, caught her wrist. "I don't think so," he murmured, the heat in his pleasantly deep voice sending more shivers down her spine. "I'm not nearly done with you." He pulled himself up on the bed, rubbing against her body, and reached behind her to his nightstand. "Are you ready?" he asked, drawing swirling lines over Kieran's chest in with his fingertip. His right hand held a single wrapped condom.

Wordlessly, Kieran reached down and pulled his black boxers off. In response, Stanton's eyebrows went up, along with a corner of his mouth. "I'll take that as a yes," he told her, and Kieran giggled, taking the package from him. Tearing it easily, she flipped it over twice, trying to figure out which direction was the right one. Stanton chuckled and took it from her, rolling it on easily.

Kieran leaned up and wrapped her arms around his neck, dragging him roughlyback down to her. They began kissing again, a more passionately than before. This time it was Kieran who did much of the teasing. She let her hands wander under his body, and bit his lip when he tried to pull away from her.

Stanton was a bit surprised at her actions - she'd been so shy about her body and actions before. Well...kind of - but he didn't dislike them. _Not in the least_, he thought to himself as her hands wandered all over his body, and he let his wander over hers.

When he heard her give a little moan, he leaned down and bit her neck gently. She squeaked, and he grinned. "Ready?" he asked again, and when she nodded, he moved up a little more between her legs and carefully began to push himself inside her. This was the part both of them dreaded - she dreaded the pain, and he dreaded hurting her.

Kieran couldn't help but gasp a little. Her breath caught in her throat. "Ow," she whimpered, thinking, _relax, just relax and it'll stop hurting_.

"Are you okay?" Stanton asked quickly, looking into her eyes to make sure she was telling the truth. As he looked into her eyes, though, the part of him still connected to the Atrox began to prowl close to the surface of his mind, and suddenly he wanted to turn her. She was so vulnerable right now, so unsuspecting. He could - _no!_

"I'm fine," he heard her say. "Be gentle," she added pleadingly, unaware of the danger she was in.

When Stanton nodded and pushed in further, Kieran closed her eyes against the knifelike pain she felt. Stanton was as gentle as he could be, but he couldn't keep from causing her pain, and part of him hated that. The other part, however, was reveling in it. Part of him enjoyed the way her body shook under him, and the way she winced with every motion he made. She was completely under his control now.

After fighting with himself for awhile, Stanton mastered his evil side - barely - and continued a gentle rocking motion until he felt Kieran relax. He barely caught himself before whispering his question across her mind. "Everything all right?"

Kieran nodded. "Definitely all right," she said, and felt immensely relieved when she didn't feel like he was stabbing her every time he moved. On a whim, she pushed upwards and rolled to the side with him, happy not to fall off the bed when she ended up on top.

"Wow," Stanton had time to say before Kieran pounced on him, closing his mouth with hers as she continued the rocking motion. Soon, though, she found it took too much energy and flexibility for her to continue rocking like that while kissing him, so she sat up, on him, and rolled her hips against his, feeling as if she were dancing.

Stanton let his hands wander for awhile until he decided it was time to switch it up again. Quickly, he shifted his weight and flipped himsef and Kieran back over. "Ha," he said, and watched her struggle to flip the two of them for a minute before saying, "Hmm. Try this." As he spoke, he reached behind himself to bend her knees around his waist. Once he had her legs where he wanted them, he quickly lunged forward and pinned her hands to the pillow on either side of her head. Still inside her, he barely moved - just enough to make her want more. When she moved to meet his body, though, he pulled back.

"Meeaan," Kieran groaned, and tried unsuccessfully to free her hands so she could flip both of them again.

"What," Stanton asked, still shamelessly teasing her as he spoke against her lips. "Did you want me to _continue_?" On the word, he rocked forward hard once, then stopped. The poor girl groaned in response. "I'm sorry, was that a yes?"  
"Yes," Kieran admitted.  
"I didn't quite catch that, Could you repeat it?"  
Knowing full well what he wanted, Kieran sighed deeply. "_Yes_!" she very nearly screamed, and began laughing, but didn't quite have time to be concerned with her volume before Stanton started distracting her rather effectively. Over the noise of the party downstairs, no one would have heard her anyway.

Stanton rocked their bodies hard, and Kieran pulled him closer to her until there was almost no space left between them. When Stanton pulled away from her lips to catch his breath, Kieran leaned up and purred quietly, not loudly enough for him to hear, but enough for him to feel her against his lips. In response, Stanton moaned slightly and quickened his motions. "Bad kitten," he teased.

Kieran suddenly found herself too distracted to tease him further, and she didn't need to, she realized as she recognized the now familiar sensations of her pulse fluttering and body temperature rising. This time, though, with Stanton pressed so tightly against her, she could feel his heart and body temperature rising with hers. When Kieran's muscles tightened again, Stanton sped up his motions, and she began to move with him, having trouble keeping up with his rhythm. Kieran's muscles tightened around him, and she hugged him close to her. He responded in the same fashion, moving to kiss her. When their lips connected, Kieran's breath caught and Stanton found himself unable to toy with her the way he wanted. Both of them soon concentrated solely on the pleasure they were both feeling, if Kieran's rapid heartbeat and heavy breathing were any indication.

"I love you," she said, sounding out of breath.

"I love you too, Kia," he responded, and soon both of them fell silent aside from their labored breathing and the slight creak of his bed. Kieran's throat tightened, turning her breathing into squeaks until she couldn't inhale or exhale under the intense pleasure. When the girl's hands twitched as they had before, she pulled them momentarily off his back to avoid clawing him any deeper than she had. She felt him tense inside her andtighten his hold on her as they came together, letting out theirbreath at the same time, Kieran biting her tongue in an effort not to be too loud.

Stanton, panting, loosened his grip on her and kissed her gently enough to make her feel like the room was spinning around her. As they kissed, he pulled out of her gently and rolled to the side. When she rolled over and draped her arm over his chest, he chuckled, and turned to kiss her forehead. "You okay?" he asked.

"Mm-hmm," Kieran said, never opening her eyes. "Love you," she added quietly, and he kissed her again.

"I love you too."

* * *

**A/N:** Well, was it worth the wait? Tell me! Even if you hated it, tell me...I like reviews. It helps me improve my writing. YAY IMPROVEMENT! (Review )

-Cali :)


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Argh, I hated the end of this chapter. It made me wanna go "Nooooooooo!"

On another note, **Everto Angelus**, thank you for being, like, the coolest reader ever - you reviewed every chapter, I think! That totally makes me day/night/whatever time it is, lol. As to your question, nope, you're not prying, and er...I don't actually know, lol. I've written about three or four of them, and each one has been better. I write part of it from experience :ahem: and the other part is all the characters. The quality and much of the wording depends on which characters are involved. Kieran's a little shy...ish...lol, and Stanton isn't one for vulgar language like you read in most sex scenes, so it came out that way.

I blame the characters. It's all their fault.

On with da shtory!

-Cali :)

* * *

Sensing Kieran was about to fall asleep, Stanton carefully got off the bed and disposed of the condom in the trash can. Just then, he heard a harsh knock on his door. _Wait_, he told whoever it was, and found his boxers and a pair of jeans rather quickly. Just as he was about to open the door, he turned around and covered Kieran in his sheets, not wanting her to be more exposed than she needed to be. He didn't need to ask who it was standing outside his room. He recognized her aura, if not the anger he felt emanating from her, reaching him through his door. Reaching forward, he turned the knob and opened the door just enough to keep Kieran out of sight. "Hello, Cassandra," he said calmly. 

"Don't 'hello Cassandra' me. What are you doing in here?" she asked, trying to see past him rather ineffectively. When she tried to push the door open, Stanton sighed and stepped out, quickly closing the door behind him. "And why are you shirtless and sweating?"

"What do you want, Cassandra?" he asked exasperatedly.

"When are you goin to turn her?" she asked bluntly. "You _are_ going to turn her." It should have been a question, but it sounded more like an order to Stanton.

He bristled. "You do not give me orders," he told her sharply. "Now if you'll excuse me," he said, and rested his hand on the doorknob. "I need to get back to Kieran before she wakes. If I lose her trust, we'll lose a follower," he told her, trying to explain why he wanted to get back to his girlfriend.

"She's asleep?" Cassandra asked in a completely different tone of voice, and stepped closer to Stanton.

"Get away from me," he hissed, and opened the door, intending to step in and close it before Cassandra could get in. She, however, pushed past him and walked into his room. As the room itself was fairly small, she immediately saw Kieran and Kieran's clothes lying strewn across the floor.

She scowled when she realized the girl was lying naked under Stanton's sheets. "You _slept_ with her?" she asked, sounding hurt. "What is _wrong_ with you?" she practically yelled.

Stanton glared. "Get out. You'll wake her."

"No! I will not get out," Cassandra snapped, "until I know exactly what is going on in your head. First you told us you just had to gain her trust, and about a year later, you're still dating her?" Stanton started to interrupt, but Cassandra stopped him. "Let me finish!" she shrilled. "She is a human. We need more on our side. You need to turn her tonight, or I will report you to the Atrox."

"And tell it what, exactly? That I didn't turn a human when I had the chance?" He rolled his eyes. "Cassandra, the Atrox won't care. You just can't come to terms with the fact that I don't love you, can you?" he asked nastily, and glanced at the bed to make sure Kieran was still asleep.

"We could be great, Stanton," Cassandra said, unconsciously running her fingers along the white scars in her chest where she'd begun to carve Stanton's name into her skin years ago.

"No, we couldn't, and we won't be. We were never anything significant. There never was a 'we' and there never will be. Can't you just accept that?" Disbelief filled his voice. Why couldn't she just leave him be?

"You can't possibly love that girl," Cassandra insisted for the second time that night.

"Why, because she's not you?" Stanton asked immediately, and at that, she fell silent. He waited a few seconds before continuing. "I will never love you, Cassandra. Part of the reason I love Kieran -"

"-no..."

"Is because she is _nothing like you._"

"No," Cassandra said, shaking her head. Her maroon hair began to fall out of its updo, and Stanton started to back the girl out of the room.

"She doesn't shamelessly worship former teachers," he sneered, taking slow and deliberate steps, forcing her backwards. "She is innocent," he continued, reaching quickly around Cassandra to open the door. "I love her because of who she is, and because of who she is not. Now, if you'll - "

"-She may be all that, but she doesn't know your past. She doesn't know who you really are," Cassandra insisted, keeping her foot in the doorframe. "Would she still love you if she knew what you really were? Hm?" she asked skeptically, folding her arms over her chest.

"She would," Stanton told her confidently.

"Why don't you show her and find out?" the girl sneered, leaning into him.

Stanton stayed in place. "I will not turn her," he said firmly.

In her sleep, Kieran felt tension rise in the air so much that it woke her. She began to open her eyes, and Cassandra, facing into the room, noticed this.

"Well then," she said, overly cheerful. "If you really won't turn her, I guess I'll have to." Before Stanton could register what she'd said, she pushed past him, walking quickly over to Kieran.

_Kia, don't look at her eyes!_ Stanton warned her, but too late.

Cassandra's gaze was mesmerizing, and Kieran realized belatedly that her eyes were glowing phosphorescent.

Stanton rushed to Kieran and covered her eyes, shoving Cassandra mentally, throwing off her concentration._ Get out!_ he barked at her, but Cassandra only flinched a little.

"Turn her! It's who you are! It's what you're here to do!"

"They were telling the truth?" Kieran asked in a disappointed tone of voice as she sat up with the sheets wrapped around her. "Serena and Jimena were telling me the truth about you?"

"I-"

"Turn her!"

"Tell me, Stanton."

At Kieran's calm request, Stanton turned to her. "I love you. That is the truth, Kieran. I adore you more than anything or anyone in any world."

"I mean about you. Not me. I know you love me," she said calmly, and Cassandra could only stare in silent disbelief at the conversation she was hearing. "Nothing will make me stop loving you," she said reassuringly, and Stanton leaned forward, pulling her into his arms. "Tell me."

He sighed and pulled back. "Yes...everything they told you is true," he admitted ("puh-lease." Cassandra rolled her eyes). "The danger is real, and so is all the information you were given." Stanton closed his eyes. What he had to admit to her now was going to be one of the hardest things he'd ever had to say. "I...was supposed to turn you awhile ago." When she opened her mouth, he silenced her with a look. "I couldn't, and I don't want to. I don't want to condemn you to a life like mine. Turning innocents becomes a physical and psychological addiction, and I can't do that to you. It's not fair...I don't want to hurt you, Kia."

The pain and regret that filled his voice hurt Kieran, and she looked away from him, silent until she couldn't stand the silence anymore. "Were you ever going to tell me?" she asked finally, pain filling her voice, too.

_Can't you leave already?_ Stanton asked Cassandra sharply, and she just smirked, folding her arms. "I was," he told her a little helplessly. "I was going to tell you before it got this far." He shook his head, looking past her. "I never meant for it to get this far. I didn't -"

"Oh, _enough _already!" Cassandra yelled, getting sick of all the excuses, explanations, and lovey-dovey bullshit. "He's an evil bastard, he was going to turn you to our side, but he grew a conscience on me and is repressing who and what he is because of you!" she told Kieran quickly, and pulled Stanton off the bed. "Now he's going to turn you," she told Kieran while looking at Stanton, "or I will," she threatened.

Stanton hesitated. "Cassandra - "

"Now!" she shrieked. When he didn't move, she screamed in frustration, and pushed him hard enough to send him flying. All in a matter of seconds, she sat down on the bed next to Kieran and before the girl could look away, Cassandra grabbed her by the back of the neck, forcing her to look into her eyes. Kieran's scream died in her throat, and she felt herself falling as Cassandra pulled her into her memories.

"No!" Stanton stood quickly and, rushing over to Kieran, he threw Cassandra off the bed and onto the floor. Turning Kieran's head in his direction, he tried to snap her out of it, but it was too late. Cassandra had taken her hope.

"Turn her now, Stanton. It's too late to save her, so you might as well just pull her over the line," Cassandra told him, malicious glee filling her voice.

_Kia_, Stanton whispered across her mind, _please turn away..._He looked into her hollow eyes and could immediately tell she wasn't seeing him. "Please turn away," he said again, aloud. As he watched, the glitter that had been in her gaze before became dull, but shone again only when her eyes welled up with tears that slipped down her cheeks in tiny rivulets.

"Turn her," Cassandra said again. "Even I can feel that you want to. She's asking for it - begging you...look into her dead eyes," she told him.

Stanton didn't need Cassandra to tell him that part of him did want to turn her. He had three choices - he could leave her hopeless and emotionally dead, he could try to bring her to the Daughters and hope that they could fix her, or he could turn her. His first thought was to bring her to the Daughters. They'd helped initiates before, why not again? Then he realized - the Atrox would not let her go. Kieran was _lecta_, and it wanted her.

He couldn't just leave her the way she was, though. This was worse than turning her, leaving her hanging. Stanton brushed Kieran's tears away and kissed her unresponsive lips gently.

"Turn her, Stanton," Cassandra whispered into his ear like some demonic inner voice.

Stanton watched Kieran's emotionless gaze for a little while longer, trying to think of another way. Soon, though, he realized he couldn't save her. She was too far gone, too deep into her emotionless black hole. "I'm sorry, Kia," he whispered to her, and felt his own eyes filling as his gaze bored into hers. He took her deep into his memories of the Atrox while part of his mind screamed at him. The other part, however, took over completely. His eyes dried and his voice developed a different tone when he spoke.  
"Now turn, sweet one, and face the Atrox."

* * *

**A/N:** NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! AHHHHHHHHH!

...Why do my characters always screw with my plots? (literally and figuratively...haha...get it? Screw with...oh nevermind...)

Yeah, so I'm not sure what's gonna happen now. I mean, I have ideas, but I dunno what they characters are gonna let me do. When they get all determined like this, it's totally up to them what happens. I've lost control again. Argh. Oh well. That's usually a good sign...anyway...

Review!

-Cali :)


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** This was an interesting chapter. I'm feeling some twists coming on. Not in this chapter, but in the next. I have no idea what's going to happen...you're as in the dark as I am. Lol. I had a plan, and as usual, the characters screwed with it...oh crap, I used that bad joke last chapter. Um...

Well I had a plan and characters messed it up as usual. So I dunno what's goin' on. We'll find out...just keep reading and reviewing and I'll keep writing stuff for you to review )

Also, more people - review chapter 8 (those of you who are comfortable reading the AHEMsexAHEM scene). I want to know what you guys think of it.

On with the story!

* * *

As he spoke, he felt her soul turn. Reveling in the release he felt, he realized he hadn't turned anyone in the time it took him to gain Kieran's trust. If she'd seen him flirting with other girls, seducing them to the side of the Atrox, she would never have gone out with him the first night. As he watched her nod, Kieran's eyes began to glow, and what he had done to her dawned on what was left of his good side.

"No..." he whispered

"Yes," Cassandra hissed back maliciously, and giggled. Stanton lashed out at her and backhanded her, nearly knocking her over. "You just can't come to terms with the fact that you turned her, can you?" she asked, mocking him as she sneered, her pretty features contorted with anger and hurt.

"Get out," Stanton growled at her, beginning to shake with rage. When Cassandra started to shake her head, Stanton stood and lunged at her.

The girl just laughed, amused at his attempt, and shook her head. "Fine, fine...see you later," she said, and walked out the door.

Stanton followed her as she walked, ready to hit her again, and when she closed the door behind herself, he punched it hard instead, denting the wood. He leaned against the broken wood for awhile, until he heard a rustling from his bed. "Kia?" he called to her.

"Yes?" she answered, walking around to find her clothes. Stanton watched her as she slipped on the underwear he'd tossed off to the side, and stepped back into her dress. "Help me with this, would you?"

Stanton's throat tightened. _Even her voice sounds different_, he realized as he walked over to her and tied the corset strings together, then zipped the outer layer around her. "I'm sorry," he whispered with a bit of a catch in his voice.

Kieran raised an eyebrow. "Sorry for what? Turning me? Opening my eyes? No, I should be thanking you," she said, and turned around to face him. "On that note, thank you, Stanton." She stepped forward, snaking her arms around his neck, and kissed him.

Stanton forced the catch out of his voice and cleared his throat. "You're welcome," he told her with a smile, and kissed her again, his arms relaxing enough to slither around her waist. Kieran sighed when hhe hugged her tighter, and he pulled away. "I have a surprise for you," he whispered against her lips, and felt her smile against his.

"Do I get a hint?" she asked, sounding like herself again. Stanton felt a pang of guilt, but pushed it away as he shook his head.

"Nope, no hints." He let go of her waist and drew his hand down her arm, catching her hand before it slipped away from him. Taking her to the door, he rested his hand on the knob. "Meet me by the car. We're all going to meet at the beach in half an hour. I need to change," he told her, and tilted her chin up, gently touching his lips to hers.

"Beach?" she asked. "Don't I need to change?"

Stanton looked her over, letting his eyes linger until she called his name and cleared her throat. Looking up at her eyes, he smiled. "No. You're beautiful. I'll see you in five minutes." He closed the door behind her and began to walk away, but spun when he heard a knock. When he opened the door, Kieran kissed him, and then walked away giggling.

Stanton couldn't stop smiling as he closed the door once more behind her. He unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, kicking them off easily, and walked around a bit before he found his tuxedo pants, vest, shirt, and jacket. His strong arms slipped easily into the shirt and he took his time buttoning it, along with the vest. Grabbing the pants, he put them on in a bit of a hurry, anxious to get back to Kieran. Sensing Tymmie at the door, however, he sighed as he zipped the fly. Come in, he called to him, and began tying his shoes up.

"I see you two had fun," Tymmie mused, glancing at the trash can.

Stanton shot a glare at him, then continued tying his shoes, too tired for a rebuttal. "Tell everyone to meet at the beach in forty-five minutes. Lecta has been turned," he added with a smirk. "It's time for the ceremony." When Tymmie nodded and left the room, Stanton picked up his bowtie and began tying it in front of the mirror.

Part of him hated himself for destroying her life, but the realization that hers was just another soul turned lingered at the back of his mind. While he ma have destroyed the life she thought she had, he had created another one for her, one in which it was permissable for him to love her, and for her to love him. He didn't have to hide his real affection for her. Of course, he would now have to deal with Cassandra's wrath, as he knew very well she wanted him to love her.

Maybe once, he could have, but no more. Now his affection lay solely with Kieran, and he had a feeling it would last awhile - especially now. She was one of them. He could teach her, and love her. A smile crept over his face as he thought of how much he could teach her, and he straightened his bowtie. Slipping on his jacket, he walked out the door, through the remaining dancers, and out to his car.

As he closed the front door behind him, he let a smile cross his lips. Kieran leaned against his car, looking up at the clouded sky. "Hard to see the stars tonight," she told him.

"You'll get used to it," he told her, tracing her jawling to direct her face towrads him. He touched his lips gently to hers, and whispered, "Get in the car. I'll explain everything on the way," he told her. Once he saw her nod, he opened the door for her with a smile. Closing it behind her, he walked around to the driver's side and got in, turning the key in the ignition.

As they drove to the beach, Stanton went into detail about the ceremony they were driving towards, and about the Atrox. He told her exactly what the Atrox was, and what he had to do every so often - turn people. Glancing at her every few seconds, he checked to make sure she was taking the information in all right.

Finally, she looked at him. "What about you? Who turned you?" she asked, and he kept his eyes on the road.

"The Atrox took me itself when I was a child," he told her. "I was an _invitus_, taken against my will. After the Daughters - Serena, Jimena, Vanessa, and Catty at the time - turned me to their side, I had to go back to the Atrox...it's a bit of a long story, but I went freely, and was given the title Prince of the Night," he explained.

"Do you regret it? You could've stayed good," she told him, and he shook his head.

"This is who I am, what I'm meant to be. I have no regrets," he told her as he parked by the beach. "Come," he told her. "I told them to get here in about - twenty minutes now," he said, glancing at his digital watch. "We still have a little time before we have to meet them on top of the bluffs." Rushing around to Kieran's door, he opened it for her and held his hand out for her.

Kieran reached out and took his hand, standing from the car. She lifted her dress to make sure it wouldn't get full of sand while they walked, but Stanton took that hand, too, and she let her skirt fall. When their lips met, she sighed. Even turned to the Atrox's side, she loved him. He'd been a bit worried about that.

As they walked, he explained to her a few more details of the ceremony, and told her about some things she'd be able to do once she stepped out of the cold fire. Kieran stopped him suddenly and stood in front of him. "Show me."

"Show you?" he asked, and quickly began running through things he could show her. He knew he shouldn't, as she was going to be able to do it soon herself, but he wanted to watch her react. "All right, I'll show you," he said, and caught her gaze with a smirk. He pulled her close to him, holding her tight, and leaned back with her. He felt her tense when she thought he was going to fall back into the sand, and chuckled when they fell into shadow.

He flew with her over the beach and over the water, letting her feel the cool spray of the ocean. He felt her awe and couldn't help but smile. He was having fun, and hoped she was, too. _You'll be able to do this on your ownsoon - you won't need me to show you how to fly_, he told her, and felt her elation. She'd been nothing more than "normal" all her life, and couldn't wait to have this kind of ability. After flying around awhile, he swirled up to the top of the bluffs with her, landing where Yvonne's ceremony had been held, and solidified. When he looked down at her, her eyes were glowing a bright turquoise and her gaze was reverent.

"You could do this all this time and you never showed me?" she whispered in disbelief, awe and ecstasy filling her eyes. "Why?"

"I wasn't supposed to tell you the truth about anything until after I turned you. I was supposed to have turned you a long time ago," he admitted.

"You should have. I can't wait to do all that stuff." She kissed him lightly and pulled away, but he snaked his arm around her neck and kept her close to him, deepening the kiss. When he dipped her back, her arms flew around his neck, but she didn't pull away, as he lowered her to the ground, sitting on a dry log near what looked like a campfire site.

"It's not all fun," he told her, his voice harsh. Kieran, however, recognized the harshness as a cover-up for pain, and said nothing else on the subject. They sat talking for another few minutes until others started arriving.

The first voice they heard was, of course, Cassandra's. "Ready to get the party started?" she asked, grinning. Behind her walked most of the rest of the partygoers, Stanton's group of followers.

_Ready?_ Stanton whispered across Kieran's mind. She nodded, still unable to speak mind-to-mind.

As Kieran watched, All the followers including Stanton backed into a circle around the campfire site. _"Lecta,"_ Stanton whispered to start the ceremony, and a fire ignited in the center of their circle. However, as Kieran stepped closer, drawn to it by its beauty, she noticed that the air grew colder around the fire instead of warmer like she thought it should have been.

_"Lecta," _the rest of the followers began chanting, and the fire grew as if the whole group had begun to blow on it. As the flames grew and thrived, Kieran found her feet pulling the rest of her body towards the flame, into the cold fire.

* * *

**A/N:** This is an interesting perspective to write it from...I'm having fun. The funny thing is, it's not Kieran who's trying to twist the story, and it usually is my character...Hm. Fascinaing...

Review if you love me! (Or if you hate me, but I'd rather be loved than hated...)

-Cali :)


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Okay, so guess who didn't plan this. Raises hand YAY! Nonplot!

Yeah...so I think...I _think_ I know what's gonna happen now. It's speculation, really, since they are now in total control (durn control-freak-characters...), but I have an idea.

WHEE ideas. Yeah, I'm rambling...

Read!

-Cali :)

* * *

Soon, Kieran was so drawn to the flame that she completely tuned out their chanting, almost unable to hear anything but the dull roar of the flames that seemed to jump higher with each step she took towards it. When she brushed a hand through the tendrils of flame that were reaching out to her, they almost felt solid, but soft like feathers. She smiled and stepped closer, letting the fire play around her arms but beginning to feel its chill.

The followers continued chanting, and Stanton let himself go on automatic as he watched Kieran step into the cold fire, which flared as high as the trees as soon as it enveloped her. "Lecta," he chanted while letting his thoughts fly to Kieran. _I love you,_ he told her as he continued to chant.

Kieran registered that he'd spoken to her via telepathy again, but the feeling she had now was one of sheer ecstasy. The flames entwined themselves in her hair and in her dress, the cold seeping into her skin while the flames created crystalline patterns on her skin. She played with the flames as if they were bubbles, and laughed when it whipped her hair up, twisting it and braiding it like her mother playing with her hair when she'd been younger.

Stanton caught the thought about her mother and felt a pang of guilt. He'd never felt guilty for turning someone, so why should he now? _Because you didn't love any of the others, _he told himself. _You don't want her to suffer the same way you do._

_But think of the power she'll have,_ he told his rebellious mind, and forced himself to continue chanting.

Kieran danced in the flames and let them wrap around her waist like a pair of sinuous hands, moving with her and against her. As the blaze swam around her, she felt the cold flames burning off her mortality. It was such an inexplicable feeling, to think of her life in terms not of years, but of centuries. What would the world be like by the year 3000? she wondered. Suddenly, she felt the fire push at her, and a pair of hands caught her when she fell out of the flames.

Kieran gasped, the wind knocked out of her, and the crowd stopped chanting all at once. _What happened? What's wrong?_ she asked Stanton, intrinsically able to use telepathy now. _I can't breathe!_

Stanton tensed, holding her. _I don't know,_ he admitted. _This has never happened before._ When he looked around to see if anyone knew what was going on, Cassandra had stepped out of the circle, standing closer to the pair of them. "Cassandra, help me," Stanton said - more of an order than a request.

Cassandra raised an eyebrow. "Why would I do that?" she asked, tilting her head. "I don't know what's going on any more than you do."

Stanton glared up at her. "You're a lot of help," he said sarcastically, and stood with Kieran, cradling her in his arms. Wordlessly, he walked quickly out of the circle of followers, rushing to his car. He knew where to take her. The daughters would be able to help.

"Hold on, Kia," Stanton begged, and without checking for oncoming traffic, he sped into the road, cars honking at him as he floored the accelerator, heading towards Serena's house. He could only pray that she'd be home.

_Serena,_ he called when he reached her street, and parked on the corner. Rushing around to the other side of his car, he pulled Kieran out of the seat and leaned back into shadow, flying up to Serena's balcony. _Serena!_ he called again.

Moments later, she opened the sliding door and stepped out. "What is it?" she whispered. "What happened to Kieran?"

Stanton cringed a little. "I...turned her...she stepped into the cold fire, and everything was fine - all of a sudden, something pulled or pushed her out and she fell, telling me she couldn't breathe."

Serena's gaze hardened. "What do you expect me to do?" she asked, hands on her hips.

Stanton shrugged, helpless. "I don't know. You saved me once...I thought maybe..." his voice trailed off and he sighed. "Never mind. I can see you're not willing to help her...Goodnight, Serena," he said, and leaned back into shadow.

"Stanton, wait!" Serena said suddenly, trying to catch him before he disappeared, but in vain.

Stanton pretended he hadn't heard her, and slid along the shadows with Kieran still in his arms, now fighting unconsciousness. "Wake up, Kieran," he snapped, more afraid than angry.

Kieran fought to keep her eyes open, and Stanton sighed. Setting her in his car, he drove them both back to the beach, but not to the bluffs. He hugged her and turned the two of them into shadow. Stopping near the water, he laid her down in the sand. "Hang on, Kia." Thinking about it, he decided the best thing to do would be to keep talking to her. "I'm going to try something."

Kieran nodded to show she was listening, but his voice echoed in her mind like a distant recording rather than a person sitting next to her. Her head hurt and her lungs ached for air.

Stanton let his power flow to his fingertips and rested them on her throat, pushing his power into her. He watched her body convulse and flinched, forcing himself not to look away. Tears slipped from Kieran's eyes and Stanton's throat tightened. He pushed his power to his fingertips and moved them down to her chest. He hoped by jolting her lungs he could get them working again.

Kieran felt like her chest was collapsing, and she coughed, but still couldn't inhale.

"Let me help," a gentle voice said from behind Stanton, and he turned to see Tianna standing behind him.

"What can you do?" he asked.

"I can try to help, can't I?" she asked, hands on her hips. When Stanton moved away, she knelt next to Kieran. "Hey Kieran," she said with a smile, and the girl said nothing, wiggling her fingers in response. Tianna looked her over. "Okay, this might hurt," she warned the girl, and focused her eyes on Kieran's lungs, pushing on them.

Whatever was left of Kieran's air left her, and Stanton watched her slip into unconsciousness. "What did you do to her?" was the last thing Kieran heard Stanton growl at Tianna before she stopped hearing their voices and blacked out.

Kieran woke with a start. "Where am I?" she asked what she thought was an empty room, lying on her back. She tried to move her arms and realized she couldn't. "What the - ?"

"Well you're not dead, if that's what you're thinking," a voice said from above her. "I wouldn't try to move if I were you," the very obviously feminine voice warned her.

"If I'm not dead," Kieran began, trying to keep her voice from shaking in fear, "what the hell is going on?" she asked sharply, and winced. "And why does my entire body ache?"

"The cold fire is very...unforgiving," the woman told Kieran, who remained silent, waiting for more of an explanation. "Your body aches because you were pulled from the flames too soon. The flames that burn away your mortality can also burn away your life if you aren't careful," she warned.

Kieran raised an eyebrow and struggled to lean up on her arms. "So I _am_ dead?"

"How many times do I have to say it? No. You're very much alive, Kieran...your soul's here - that's why you can't move," she explained.

"Who are you?" The woman wore a dress the color of lilacs, and when she moved it seemed to whisper against the floor. Her hair was black, and she wore a veil over her face.

"No one of your concern," the woman said, kneeling next to Kieran and pulling her head onto her lap. "Drink," she told the girl, and lifted a bowl to her lips. Kieran, feeling like a bit of a baby, as she couldn't even hold her own head up, sipped, choked momentarily, then began sipping more carefully. The water was ice cold, but left a bitter aftertaste.

"What's in this?" she asked, her entire body beginning to feel better.

"Herbs, plants...you know. The usual," the woman said as she tipped the rest of the brew into Kieran's mouth. "Now relax, will you? If you continue to fight me and tense up, your body will die. You need to relax your muscles. Breathe in," she instructed once she'd draped a steaming cloth over Kieran's forehead. When Kieran inhaled as instructed, she coughed. The cloth smelled strongly of lavender, but once she stopped coughing, she felt her body relaxing.

"I don't know if you'll be immortal or not when you wake," the woman admitted a little awkwardly. "You will know," was the last thing Kieran heard before drifting off into a deep sleep.

Kieran's waking breath exploded into her lungs, causing her muscles to seize up again, but they quickly relaxed when her lungs got used to the air again. She felt a pair of hands on her back, helping her sit up. She breathed deeply, and when she looked into the night sky, she didn't feel the beauty she once might have.

_Stanton?_ she asked, testing to see if she could speak mind-to-mind with him still.

Stanton looked her over, letting his hands wander to make sure her body was still intact. _Are you all right?_ he asked. He failed to mention that the daughters had once almost killed him trying to release him, and he'd gone through a similar thing - collapsing and waking later. _What happened?_

Kieran shook her head. "I don't know," she said aloud. "I...felt a pair of hands push me out of the fire, and all of a sudden I couldn't breathe. The lady..." she let her voice trail off and bit her lip. She could still smell the lavender from the cloth. When Stanton urged her to go on, she continued a little reluctantly. "There was a lady - she told me my body was here, and my soul was there, and she gave me something to drink...and put a-"

"Lavender cloth on your forehead?" Stanton asked gently, looking past her into the water.

Kieran turned in his arms to face him. "How did you know?" she asked, and he turned back to her, touching her face. He realized he could have lost her and felt lucky more than anything that she was still alive.

"It's a long story," Stanton admitted. "I think I know what pushed you out of the fire," he told her, wincing. "I think it was me..."

Kieran frowned. "But you were the one who -"

"I know, I know. As I was standing there chanting, I kept thinking of how I couldn't believe I'd done this to you, ruined your life this way," he said with a sigh. "I think my thoughts solidified and pushed you out. I'm sorry, Kia."

Kieran shook her head. "I'm not. I'm just glad I'm alive right now." Suddenly remembering, she added a question. "What happened to Tianna?" As she questioned him, she looked around, and all the daughters solidified, surrounding them in their party clothes, Jimena wearing a slinky purple halter top with a black skirt and heels, Catty wearing a brilliant green dress, Vanessa dolled up in blue, Tianna in a gold-tone skirt, and a white butterfly halter, and Serena in a short black dress, her hair curled into a pile on top of her head. Their moon amulets all threw iridescent rays of light at the immortal duo.

Stanton stood, helping Kieran onto her feet. "Goddesses," he sneered.

* * *

**A/N:** Ooooooooooh, I sense a fight scene coming on!I think I know what's gonna happen. I sense cool stuff in the next chapter. Muahahahaha...

Review!

-Cali :)


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Sorry it took so long, guys! Got panicked with a paper that I discovered was due in like, 2 days, 5 pages. AHH!

Okay, so some of you might know that I'm actually writing an original series. My rhetoric teacher is trying to help me get connected with someone who has connections at publishing companies. How cool is that? I ended up sending him my entire first book, which I'm sure can be edited more, but I decided I was finished editing it. The rest is for a professional editor. I think he talked to her today, so we'll see if she's interested in helping me.

Cross your fingers for me!

Anyway...this chapter went kinda slowly, but I liked the way the daughters talked in this. I also liked the interaction between...oh, well you'll see. This isn't ending how I planned it, but hey. I kinda like that.

I hope you do too :)

-Cali :)

* * *

"The only good follower is a dead follower," Jimena sneered right back at him. "What did you do to her?" she asked Stanton when she saw Kieran's glowing eyes.

"I opened her eyes," he told her.

"Destroyed her is more like it," Vanessa said, glaring. "Couldn't you find someone else to bother?"

As Kieran watched, the girls linked arms, and Stanton pushed her behind him. _What are you doing?_ she asked him. _I want to watch!_

_You'll either stay behind me or fight with me,_ he told her, _but you're not watching. You're not on their side anymore - they'll hurt you._ As Stanton spoke, Kieran felt power building up inside him, and automatically backed up. "It's a shame things didn't work out, goddess," he said to Serena, and the girl flinched, looking away from him. "It would've been fun." He let his power fly and the goddesses blocked it, sparks flying when the powers met in midair.

Kieran breathed in the smell of ozone and soon found her own body tingling in anticipation. She wanted to fight. Would Stanton let her? Maybe if he saw she could, he would, she realized, and began to let her power build. Her pupils dilated as she held it in, and when the daughters let their power fly, she let hers go, pushing the girls' power back at them, creating more sparks.

Stanton raised an eyebrow and turned his head momentarily to Kieran, stunned. The girl learned fast, and he wasn't even teaching her yet.

"Hmm," Kieran mused aloud, and leaned back, closing her eyes. She concentrated on letting her body go and picturing the shadow she could become, and turned into the shadow she imagined. As soon as her body disappeared, she flew around Stanton to let him know she had shifted and was going to play with the girls.

At his slight nod, Kieran wove around the girls' ankles, sending chills up their spines. _Hello girls,_ she whispered across all their minds, delighting in the horrified looks on their faces.

Stanton used their surprise to his advantage and blasted his power in their direction. Serena pushed forward with her power, aiming directly at Stanton.

Kieran frowned when she noticed none of the girls were trying to hurt her.

_Don't do this,_ Serena called to Kieran. _You don't have to be on their side - we can -_

_Save me? Do you really think I want to be saved? I can finally do something different!_ Kieran answered, grinning internally, and blasted the girls with her power. Quickly, though, she felt she was tiring.

_Stay out of this, then,_ Stanton told her, and blocked another blast of power from the girls.

_It's my fight, too! _Kieran protested, and solidified next to him. Stanton reached out for her hand and began to meld her power with his, creating a stronger force. He let the power fly and all their moon amulets pulsed.

_Stop,_ Kieran heard Serena plead, and grinned.

_Ooh, but this is so much fun!_ the new immortal answered.

_You leave us no choice,_ Serena told her, and conversed quickly with the other daughters. As one, they focused all their power on Kieran, and the girl felt something being ripped out of her, gasping.

Stanton frowned, turning to Kieran. She recognized the question on his face and tried to answer, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she felt the same ripping sensation. "Stop," she choked out, but the girls didn't.

Kieran knew somehow that they were trying to help her, but they were hurting her, too. Finding herself unable to speak, her body wracked with pain, she fell to her knees. As soon as she fell, trying to get back up, she felt a pair of thin arms lift her. Panicking, she tried to flail and cause whoever it was to drop her, but Cassandra held on.

"You're going back into the fire," she hissed.

"Drop her," Stanton barked, stepping forward.

The daughters, unsure of what to do, stood back and watched the bickering. "What's going on with this?" Tianna asked. "I thought that one was one of them," she said, pointing at Cassandra.

Serena nodded. "She is." With a smirk, she added, "She's never been able to cope with the fact that Stanton doesn't love her. She's trying to force him to by taking away everyone else."

"Well that's not going to work," Vanessa said, pointing out the obvious.

"Let's attack them now, while they're distracted," Tianna suggested, and focused her gaze. Jimema, however, caught her arm.

"We don't attack."

"Maybe you don't, but I do," Tianna growled, refocusing her eyes on Stanton, boring a hole into his back with her telekinesis.

"Not if you're one of us you don't," Serena said shaking her head. "Don't, Tianna. We can still save Kieran." She knew Tianna was angry, but that didn't mean Serena wouldn't stop her. Suddenly, she had an idea. It involved quite a bit of luck on her part, but she was going to try anyway. _Cassandra, _she called to her, and the girl whipped her head in the goddess's direction.

_What?_

_Why don't you let Vanessa turn Kieran invisible and fly her up to the bluffs? It'd be easier for you and that way you can dump her back into the cold fire,_ she said, making perfect sense.

Cassandra appeared to consider this for awhile. If she agreed, it meant she was helping the goddesses. However, if she helped them, she could knock Kieran out of the picture a little more easily. Was it worth the stigma of having aided the goddesses just to get Kieran away from Stanton? _Yes,_ she thought to herself, and called to Serena. _Fine,_ she answered.

Serena quickly ran over her idea with the other daughters, and as soon as she finished and they all agreed while Stanton continued to bicker with Casandra, Vanessa nodded and let her molecules expand. Serena concentrated on keeping her mind blank as she watched Kieran's hair being whipped around. Vanessa swirled around her, trying to make her invisible, but one look at Kieran's face andSerena knew she was fighting it.

_Don't, Kieran,_ Serena begged. _We're trying to help you -_

_NO!_ Kieran screamed so loud Stanton heard the thought solely directed at Serena, immediately pulling Kieran into him and shifting into shadow with her, scattering Vanessa's molecules in the process.

Vanessa pulled her molecules together and reappeared standing with the others.

"Perfect," Serena and Cassandra said in unison, then stared at each other, horrified. It would have been funny if not for the situation. "He's taking her up to the bluffs," she told the girls. "Vanessa, can you make us all invisible and fly us up there?"

Vanessa shook out her hands, as if she were trying to maintain control over her power, and nodded. "Sure. Everyone grab onto my arms," she instructed, and they all did.

"What about me?" Cassandra asked sharply, and glared.

"Fine, fine," Vanessa said, rolling her baby blues, and let Cassandra grab onto her shoulder, her daggerlike nails digging into the girl's flesh. Vanessa closed her eyes in concentration and when her molecules expanded, she felt the other girls disintegrating with her. Once she felt all the weight lift, she directed herself to the bluffs, carrying the others with her. She floated aimlessly for awhile until she saw a moving shadow, a little blacker than the rest of them. _There they are,_ she thought to herself, and followed the two for awhile until they stopped, feet away from the site of the cold fire.

_Everyone make your mind blank,_ Serena thought to them, reminding them that both Stanton and Kieran could pick up thoughts if they wanted to.

"They won't think to look for us back here. I doubt they'd expect us to go back to the cold fire site," Stanton said to Kieran. "Are you all right?"

"Tired," she told him. "And my dress is ruined," she added with a sigh.

"With your new powers, you don't need that dress to get attention," he reminded her, and leaned in to kiss her.

_Now, Vanessa, _Serena thought to her friend, and Vanessa let go of the others, allowing them to turn visible in shadow behind the pair. Vanessa, however, let her body go one more time and followed Stanton's arms as he curled them around Kieran, concentrating on making Kieran invisible again. All she had to do was drop Kieran into the fire once Tianna got it going again. A glance over her invisible shoulder told Vanessa that Tianna was already concentrating on doing just that. Stanton deepened the kiss and Kieran forgot to be wary of her surroundings.

With excellent timing, Vanessa broke through the mental block Kieran had on herself and watched the girl's arms begin to disappear.

Kieran quickly realized something was wrong and jumped away from Stanton, trying to force her mental block back up. Unfortunately, the sight of her arms slowly becoming translucent broke her concentration and she continued to desintigrate. "Stanton, help!" yelled the frightened girl - immortal or not, she didn't know what was going on and it freaked her out. At her cry, Stanton shifted into shadow and wrapped himself around her, trying to sort of hold her together.

As he grasped for her, however, he felt her molecules slipping through his arms. _No!_

Kieran's scream faded into the wind as the rest of her body disappeared. As soon as Vanessa could, she lifted the girl as she fought. The cold fire wasablaze again, feet away from them when Vanessa flew the two of them over it. She shivered as she felt the cold and flew higher, though she dropped about a foot when Kieran's molecules kicked against Vanessa's.

_Will you stop it? You're going to make us both fall!_ Vanessa thought, knowing Kieran could hear her. Unfortunately, Kieran was determined to ignore her. She didn't care if she fell, being an immortal. Intrinsically, she knew she would heal quickly if she was hurt.

Kieran was _going_ toget out of Vanessa's grasp if it killed her. She didn't want to go back into the fire and be a mortal again! Kicking and screaming, she finally fell out of Vanessa's grip, turning visible as she fell the ten feet into the fire.

* * *

**A/N: **So yeah. That was an interesting chapter.I love the Serena/Cassandra speaking in unison moment. It made me laugh. I could just imagine the looks on their faces when they realized they'd had identical thought processes.

:Giggle:

So what do you think?

Lemme know!

-Cali :)


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** I like the way this chapter went. It got...really interesting near the end. I didn't quite expect this from any of them. Sorry it took so long - life got kinda nuts! I promise I haven't forgotten this. I have an idea for the end. I think the last chapter may be coming soon...after that, if you like my writing, I'll be posting a Phantom of the Opera fic I've been working on for awhile...

I hope this is worth the wait!

On with da shtory.

-Cali :)

* * *

Kieran didn't solidify completely until she was in the fire, and the scream that had escaped her invisible throat pierced the air when the top half of her body solidified. Hearing the throat-tearing note, Kieran stopped and her first reaction was to shift into shadow. As soon as she tried, though, she felt the flames reach out and wrap around her, holding her to her form. "Let me go!" she yelled at it, and tried to wrench her arms out of its viselike grip to no avail. "_STANTON!"_ she screamed, and the fire moved and seeped into her lungs, cutting off her scream with a destructive cough. The fire that had danced with her and played with her so eagerly before was now chilling her to the bone, causing her to shiver too much to speak.

Stanton rushed towards the fire, but as soon as he reached out to the flames, his arm shook and ached. He swore, realizing she was trapped in the fire and there was nothing he could do about it.

Kieran tried shifting into shadow again, and the fire lashed out more violently this time, searing her like white hot whips. She gasped at its agression as it lifted her into the air, stopping her completely from fighting it. She writhed in its clutches, and it tightened its grip on her.

So this was what it was like to be picked on by a bully, Kieran mused, realizing it was throwing her around and teasing her, taunting her as it played with and in her dress. She felt tears leaking from her closed eyes and looked down to see them freeze on her cheeks. _Stanton_, she called, and he knew she was scared.

The daughters stared at the blaze, seeing flashes of the girl's dress through the thickening flames. They knew they couldn't do anything. When Serena had been turned and Jimena had had to shove her back into the fire, it had almost killed her. None of them wanted to risk it, no matter how much they cared aout Kieran.

The flame that had caressed her body so gently before whipped itself around her neck, pulling energy out of her. Kieran felt her body go numb and willed her arms to move, but found that they stayed firmly in place, spread like wings.

Stanton stood helpless at the edge of the fire, shivering at its chill. He reached out to Kieran. _Give me your hand - I'll pull you out!_

Kieran struggled against the flames that were holding her so firmly in place and tried to reach out to him. It seemed, though, that the harder she tried to move, the tighter the fire's hold became on her. She felt the flame wrapped around her neck begin to tighten and she wondered numbly if the fire was going to kill her instead of turn her mortal.

_KIA!_ Stanton yelled in her mind, his usually calm voice panicked and enraged.

_I love you,_ Kieran thought to him with her fading telepathy, and felt the world blurring and blackening.

Stanton felt Kieran fade and rounded on the daughters. "Do you see what you've done?" he roared, gesturing with his entire arm. Kieran hung limp in the fire, motionless and silent. "She was happy, and you destroyed her! You've _killed_ her!"

Serena stared, feeling a familiar want to comfort him, but stopped herself. "No one can be happy a follower of the Atrox. You said it yourself - there's no love there," she reminded him, and Stanton flinched, his hard gaze shifting to a pained one.

"I didn't want to turn her," he whispered to no one in particular, looking down.

Serena watched as he sank to his knees, wrapping his arms around himself, and a familiar longing to wrap her arms around him invaded her conscious. "Serena." Jimena gripped her friend's arm as if she could sense her turmoil.

"I wasn't going to turn her," Stanton almost sobbed. "I didn't mean for it to go this far...I was going to break it off tonight..." With his back to the fire, he didn't see it begin to die. "Cassandra," he snarled, his voice beginning to shake with anger, "stole her hope, and I..." his shaking voice gave way to a sigh. "I lost control..."

"Don't apologize to us," Jimena snapped, interrupting Serena, who had been about to speak. "Kieran's life is the one you destroyed - not ours."

"She was _happy_!" Stanton roared, his voice cracking terribly on the word. "She had incredible capabilities, innate ability, and you had to _'save'_ her! I didn't kill her Jimena. That was never my intent. I may have destroyed her life, but you..._you_ took it."

"No," Catty interjected. "If you hadn't turned her in the first place, we never would've had to - "

"Don't you _dare_ finish that sentence, goddess. Don't you _dare_ place the blame on me! I _loved_ her! Do you really think I wanted to _destroy_ her?" His voice had risen almost shrilly and his eyes burned angrily as he glared at the Daughters.

"Followers destroy everything anyone cares about," Tianna snapped. "Why wouldn't they destroy things they claim to care about?"

"No," Stanton insisted, "it's not like that. You don't understand."

"Oh, I think we understand perfectly," Vanessa said calmly. "You knew exactly what would happen if you turned her."

"Yes, which is why I wasn't going to -"

"And you knew we'd have to save her." Catty folded her arms stubbornly, glaring daggers at him.

"But you didn't - "

"We released her," Serena said quietly, steeling herself for what she knew would be a very awkward moment in a while. "At least now she doesn't have to live the awful life you're stuck with, a life without real love."

"She was - "

"Will you give up on that?" Jimena snapped. "She would not have been happy as a follower. No one could."

"She _loved_ me! She could've been with me, like she wanted to!"

"Damn it, Stanton, _I_ loved you!" Serena suddenly burst out, silencing everyone and drawing all attention to herself. "_I_ loved you and _I_ wanted to be with you, but I guess things just don't always work out the way we want them to, do they?" she snapped, tears filling her bright green eyes as her voice became harsher. "You screwed up, we screwed up, and there's nothing that can be done about it!"

Stanton's brows furrowed further and he pushed into Serena's mind only to be pushed back out with such force that he actually stumbled backwards. She was glaring ice cold daggers into his eyes. Serena has quite the stubborn and strong mind block up, and Stanton couldn't even get through.

"If you insipid, ignorant girls had left well enough alone, Kieran and I would be back at the squat winding down our party," Stanton spat. Without his consent, his power began to build up in him. "You interfering maggots have wrecked my plans for the _last time_!" At his roar, he let all his built up power fly at the girls.

Serena and Tianna both shot energy at the power he'd sent out, pushing against it. Serena, however, could easily sense his anger rising. _Vanessa, get us out of here! _

At Serena's order, Vanessa closed her eyes tightly in concentration and felt her molecules expanding almost instantly.

Stanton pressed harder with his power against the girls', aiming to destroy them. He wasn't playing anymore and he was sick of their little games.

"_Vanssa_!" Serena yelled aloud, and felt her molecules begin to expand as Vanessa's power moved through them. Stanton pressed harder once more with a sudden burst of energy, and Serena and Tianna lost control.

The immortal's power blasted through their molecules and Vanessa pulled her now invisible friends into the air, flying quickly.

Stanton shifted into shadow and tried to follow them for awhile before giving up, unable to see or sense them, as all of them had probably concentrated on keeping their minds blank.

By the time Stanton got back to the bluffs and Kieran, the cold fire had dwindled to nothing but chilly smoke. Kieran lay stretched out and pale over the smoldering logs. Walking carefully, as if afraid to touch her, Stanton reached Kieran. Gingerly, he bent down and lifted her limp form.

"Kia," he whispered sadly, and laid her gently on the ground. Kneeling down next to her, Stanton traced her jawline, his eyes filling as he knelt further and kissed her forehead. "I'm so sorry," he murmured to her, and placed her hands on her stomach in a relaxed position. Kissing her cold and unresponsive lips one more time, he stood and turned his back to her. He couldn't bear to go back to the squat just yet, so he sat down on the edge of the bluffs and looked out into the lightening sky. It was still a deep cobalt blue, beautiful in a serene way. He suspected the sun would be rising soon.

"Well that's a shame," a voice said, surprising him.

"Leave me alone, Cassandra," Stanton whispered, holding his head in his hands.

"Are you sure? You look like you could use someone..." At a look from him, Cassandra's voice trailed off. "Fine. I'll stop," she said quietly. "I'll see you later," she said, and began to walk away.

Stanton glanced at Kieran again, and a whole new sadness filled him.

It hadn't hit him until now that he'd never be able to hear her laugh, her voice, or feel her arms around him again.

Pulling his knees to his chest, Stanton let the realization sink in: He had let five teenage girls kill the girl he loved.

* * *

**A/N:** SOB Saaaaaaaaad...or is it? DUNDUNDUNNNnnnnnnnnnnn...I had the idea of making this last longer, but I think that'd be overdoing it, almost. Besides, that would totally undermine the whole idea of some characters...

Anyway.

I think we have one more chapter to go.

What do you think?

-Cali :)


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Okay, I lied. There's gonna be another chapter after this. I like to keep my chapters a fairly consistent length, and this one's fairly long as it is. 2175 words long, yay...

Anywho. There's a bit of a shock in this I didn't expect. I've lost control of my shtory again...but I'm taking it back over and ending it next chapter.

On with the story!

-Cali

* * *

Stanton let the rising sun begin to warm his body as its blinding light bounced off the water below him. He had taken off his jacket and vest some time ago, leaving himself wih merely a tuxedo shirt and pants. He lifted his head from his knees, where it had been for the past hour or so, and squinted against the sun's reflection on the water. He sighed, staring at nothing in particular. Cassandra would worry about him, he knew. Maybe he should go back...

He tried to get up, but something wouldn't let him move. He thought of Kieran, remembering the way she'd managed to hold him in place one day when he told her he had to go, and his eyes filled. "Kia," he whispered, just to see if he voice still worked, but the name sent fresh waves of sorrow through him, and he buried his face in his hands.

He didn't understand what was happening to him. He had been so incredibly stoic before. He'd never cried over or about Serena, and he'd thought he'd loved her...What was wrong with him? Kieran was just another girl.

No, a part of his mind chided, she wasn't just another girl. She'd still loved you when they killed her. At this realization, Stanton flinched as if he'd been hit. A wind blew in from the ocean and sent a chill through Stanton, causing him to straighten as if someone had tapped him on the shoulder. Through his tears, he hadn't heard a gasping breath from behind him.

Kieran now sat up carefully, but as soon as she lifted herself off the ground, she began to cough, making clouds in the air with her cold breath. Smoke from the fire had settled into her lungs and she was just now releasing it.

Her coughs alerted Stanton to her presence and state of being, and he whipped his head around, surprised and unsuspecting. "Stanton?" he heard that heavenly voice speak again, but the sound of her voice was quickly covered as she coughed.

Stanton, however, was too surprised to say anything. He simply scrambled up from the edge of the bluffs and raced over to her, nearly tripping over himself in the process. Wrapping an arm around her waist and shoulders, he helped her sit up. Helpless, he watched cold smoke escape her lungs in violent, hacking coughs. When they subsided a bit, Stanton brushed her long hair behind her ears, still unable to speak.

Tears streamed down Kieran's cheeks as she continued to try to breathe with a tightened and cold throat. When Stanton pulled her into his arms and held her tight, she relaxed a bit, though her arms were still folded over her stomach as she shivered. She couldn't believe how cold she was. "Sta-" she managed to say shakily before her coughing started up again.

Stanton held her silently, in shock, as she coughed and shook in his arms. "Kia," he whispered into her hair, stroking it gently. _I thought you were_...

Kieran flinched when he whispered in her mind, getting a headache from all her hacking, and tried to curl up further. "Shh," Stanton murmured, willing her to calm down and stop coughing. When he whispered to her, her coughs began to slow and calm, and eventually stopped.

The girl lay still curled up in Stanton's arms, shaking half from the cold and half from fear. "S-Stanton?" Kieran started, still shivering, but forced herself to speak through her chattering teeth. "I..."

Stanton looked down at her and sighed. He had to get her into the sunlight. Holding her closer to him, he shifted into shadow and flew down to the beach with her. When they materialized, she was still curled up in his arms. "Shh," he murmured to her, and held her until he felt her shivers subside about an hour later, and the sun had risen in the sky. "Are you all right, Kia?" he asked gently, stroking her hair.

Kieran breathed slowly, trying not to start her coughing up again and let her throat heal. "Y-yeah," she murmured quietly. "What happened?"

Stanton looked into her eyes and noticed that they had gone completely back to normal, no longer glowing. Her immortality had been destroyed. "Well...you were turned..." he sighed, closing his eyes against the terrible feeling he had. "_I_ turned you. Cassandra stole your hope, but I turned you. I...I lost control. I'm sorry," he murmured. Kieran said nothing, watching him intently, so he continued with a sigh. "We took you out here, to the cold fire - it turns the chosen followers immortal. You were _lecta_, a chosen one. It turned you immortal quite easily. The Daughters of the Moon - Serena, Jimena, Vanessa, Catty, and Tianna, tried to save you...Ah, Vanessa turned you invisible with her and kind of dropped you back into the fire."

"What happened to me in there?" Kieran whispered nervously, hugging her knees to her chest, backing out of his arms.

"I'm not sure," Stanton admitted, looking down at the warming sand. He began drawing swirling lines in it as he spoke to her. "I think it...I think it nearly killed you because you were _lecta_. The chosen one is not supposed to be turned back, ever. The Atrox didn't want to let you go, so it tried to cling to you as well as it could...so while the fire was trying to burn off your immortality, the Atrox was trying to keep you the way you were. God, Kia, your arms..." he whispered, realizing her arms had slashes in them, as if someone had whipped her, or slashed at her with a knife.

Kieran frowned when he said that, and looked down at her arms. With a gasp, she touched her arms, staring at the gashes, some of which were too deep for her comfort.

Stanton couldn't bear it anymore. Helooked at her face as he spoke."Kia, I can't do this to you anymore. We've got to end it."

"What?" Kieran had spoken so suddenly that her voice had caught in her throat and made her start coughing again.

Stanton took advantage of her inability to argue with him, and kept talking. "I dragged you into this awful world, and you know everything. You've seen the cold, lothing side of the Atrox, and of me, too...I can't imagine you'd want to be with me after all that."

"Stanton," Kieran tried to interrupt, but Stanton held a hand up and kept talking.

"I mean, look at you. You were almost killed, your arms are covered in gashes - how are you going to explain those to your mother?" Stanton sighed. "No. It has to end. I can't keep doing this to you. What if the Atrox captures you again? What if I lose control of my powers and turn you again? What if - "

"What if I want to be with you anyway?" Kieran asked quietly, interrupting him and stunning him into silence. "I love you. I don't care if you're scared. I'm not," Kieran insisted.

"But I'm a terrible person - I'm...I've done terrible things, Kieran. I can't just - "

"I know who you are, and I know what you are. What do you not understand? I want to be with you. I love you. I'm not afraid of you, and I'm not letting you make the same stupid mistake twice, running away from someone who loves you just because you're scared of hurting her!" Kieran was yelling at this point. She coughed once and pressed her hand to her chest, against her aching lungs. "You hurt me already."

At this, Stanton flinched and opened his mouth, starting to apologize.

Kieran interrupted again. "Nothing you can do now will make me believe you don't love me."

Stanton shook his head. "You don't understand, Kieran. I do love you, but the Atrox would never allow it...It will know. We can't hide this from it."

"Then defy it. You said you were Prince of the Night, didn't you?" Kieran asked, tilting her head to the side. "Don't you have some immunity to its rules?"

Stanton shook his head vigorously and stood. "You don't get it, Kia. I can't do this to you anymore. It's over. That's it. No more. Stop fighting me," he snapped, and turned his back on her.

Kieran sat stunned for a few seconds, before realizing she was at the beach, nowhere near her house. "Stanton, wait!" she called, and he stopped, but didn't turn around. He knew if he turned and looked at her he'd just run back to her, and he couldn't do that, not after she'd almost been killed by getting entwined in his life.

"Yes?" he asked, his back still turned to her.

"Well, first of all, your jacket, vest and bowtie are all here," she told him, looking around and picking them up.

"Oh," Stanton said a little awkwardly and turned around, walking back over to her, avoiding her gaze as he picked up his bowtie and stuffed it into his pocket, then stuck his arms through the sleeves of his vest, and then through his jacket, even though it was quite warm out. He didn't want to leave anything. He had no intention of being here again. Well, at least not for awhile. "Thanks," he said awkwardly, and then turned back around, beginning to fade into shadow.

"Stanton," Kieran started, biting her lip. She didn't want to do this, but she had to. God, how she hated to feel incapable.

He solidified again and raised an eyebrow, his back turned to her. Kieran tested herself to see if she could stand, but her legs shook. She knew she would never be able to walk home at this rate. "Yes?" she heard him ask, and she sighed. "Stanton, I can't...I don't think..." she bit her lip and looked up at him when he turned to face her. "C-can you take me home?"

Stanton looked her over and she saw a pain in his eyes she wished she could kiss away. Wordlessly, he nodded, and walked over to her. With a smooth yanking motion, he pulled her to her feet, holding her up against him. She sighed when his arms enveloped her, and he leaned back into shadow, flying quickly across the ground, and before they knew it, they were back at Kieran's house. Stanton hesitated at her front porch, then decided to bring her up to her room.

The fact that he'd pushed her away didn't mean he wanted her to get in trouble. He sifted through the closed window and stopped in the middle of her room, where they solidified. Kieran was still clinging to him, trying to stand upright. Seeing this, Stanton picked her up easily and put her on her bed.

"Do you have a long sleeved shirt?" he asked her gently, thinking of the gashes on her arms and hoping they'd heal quickly. When she nodded and pointed him to it, he got it for her. At her request, he unzipped the outer layer of her dress and untied her corset.

When she began to slip the dress off, he turned and began to lean back. "Don't go," Kieran sad quietly.

"You need to change...I should leave," Stanton said awkwardly, facing the window with his back to her again.

"It's nothing you haven't seen before," Kieran reminded him, and began to strip off her dress. Stanton compromised by staying with his back turned to her. Kieran managed to change into her shirt with no problem, and thankfully her pajama pants were within reach. Grabbing them, she slipped them on, and Stanton, sensing she had finished, turned around.

"All right...Well, I'll..." his voice trailed off and his brows furrowed. He'd almost said he'd see her later, when that was exactly what he didn't plan on doing.

Kieran knew. He didn't need to finish his sentence, and she didn't need to be a follower to know what he'd almost said. "Yeah," she said quietly. "Stanton," she said at the same moment he said her name.

When they would've normally laughed a little awkwardly and continued talking, they both looked down, Kieran's eyes filling. "Sleep well," she heard him say, and opened her mouth to speak, but stopped, feeling a large lump in her throat.

"Stanton," she choked out, and he turned back. Kieran felt tears leak from her eyes without her consent and looked down. She wanted to ask him a favor, but she wasn't sure if she could do it now. Now that he was looking at her with those glowing blue eyes..."I..." she hesitated.

Stanton caught her thought easily. She wanted one last kiss. He shook his head. "It'll just make everything harder, Kieran. I'm sorry. Sleep well," he said again. "Maybe we'll see each other again."

Kieran was shocked to hear a bit of a catch in his voice as well, but when she looked up, he had already disappeared.

* * *

**A/N:** Argh, WHYYYYY? Wahh! It makes me wanna smack Stanton, and then smack Kieran for not fighting him harder! RAWR! Stupid control-taking-over-characters...

Okay, at least one more chapter to follow.

Review if you love me!

:SIGH: Fiiiiiiiine, review if you love it or hate it - tell me how stupid I am, or how much of a genius I am (nothing in between :Grin: )...Yeah. Review!

-Cali


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: **Okay everyone, this is the last chapter. I kinda like the way it ended, but it's so not the way I'm used to my stories ending. You should all be proud of me...I didn't kill anyone in this one. Lol. AND my main girl was normal...

Wow. Different...Seriously! Anywho. I think this came out well. The prose is good, it makes me happy (I think), and...I lost my train of thought. Yay.

Everyone wish me luck - for those of you who know music, I'm auditioning for the Rejoice solo in Handel's Messiah on sunday. For those of you who don't, that's basically like...four or six pages of really fast notes. It's fun.

-Cali :)

* * *

Kieran realized absently when she pulled the covers over herself that she hadn't taken off her makeup, and sighed. She didn't care anymore. She just wanted to sleep and never wake up. To think, she had come so close to becoming immortal, and never having to fear death. Now, though...that was all gone.

_So is Stanton_, part of her mind said. "No," she whispered to it, insisting. "He's not gone...he...he'll come back. He'll miss me." Once she listened to herself talk, however, she realized she was just trying to convince herself of that. It wasn't until her tears had begun to soak her pillow that she realized she was crying.

A few short minutes later, she drifted off into restless dreams. In her mind, she ran from the Daughters of the Moon, her former friends. Chasing her, they jeered, "mortal! Go back into the fire where you came from!" Kieran pumped her legs harder and harder, but got absolutely nowhere. Soon, the daughters caught her and lifted her, forcing her back into the freezing flames.

"We'll see who gets the guy this time," Serena told her, and shoved her headfirst into the flames. The freezing blaze turned quickly into a pool of water as Kieran dove, trying to swim away from something. She couldn't even see what was chasing her, but she could feel it pull her down again and again.

Coughing and panting, Kieran kept swimming harder and harder. "Let me go!" she screamed, the sound tearing at her throat. "STANTON!" she called, and he appeared in front of her as a shadow.

"Why should I help you? You're not my girlfriend anymore," he reminded her, swirled around her once, and then disappeared again.

"Help!" Kieran screamed, panicked, and whatever it was under her pulled her down again, but this time it didn't let go. She held her breath as well as she could, and, panicked, finally let out a scream.

Her dream scream turned into a real one as her mother burst into the room to find her daughter sitting bolt upright. "Kieran?"

"Mom?" Kieran's voice shook, and she herself was shaking uncontrollably. "I-I guess it was a dream..."

"It's about time you woke up," her father said with a smirk in the doorway. "You all right, kiddo?"

Kieran looked at him and tears filled her eyes. "Uh oh," she heard her mom say, and looked down. "Don, you'd better go. Girl talk time," she warned him.

"Oh no, not girl talk..." he teased, and Kieran's mother shooed him out of the room, closing the door behind them.

"Okay, sweetheart, talk to me. What happened?" Kieran's mom touched her shoulder gently, and the girl flinched. "Are you okay?"

Kieran pulled away from her mom. "I'm fine, mom...I just...I just had a bad dream, that's all. What time is it?"

"It's four in the afternoon, Kieran. When did you get in last night?" Her mother's tone wasn't as accusatory as she had expected it to be, and it took her by surprise.

"I don't know," Kieran answered honestly. She hadn't looked at the clock before she'd slipped into that horrible nightmare. "It must've been late," she said with a sigh.

"I'll bet. I went to check on you around two and you weren't back yet. You're lucky I'm not like other mothers who assign their daughters curfews on prom night. Speaking of that, how was the dance?" she asked with a smile, trying to lighten Kieran's mood.

"It was fun," she said with a forced smile.

"Kieran, I always know when you're lying to me," her mother reminded her, giving her an expectant look. "Why don't you tell me what happened? There's obviously something that's bothering you. You know I never judge you, Kia - "

"Don't call me that!" Kieran snapped before realizing she'd completely given it away. "That's what Stanton called me..."

Her mother nodded knowingly. "I thought so," she said, pulling a tissue out of a nearby box and handing it to her daughter. "Don't cry yet, your mascara will run and your face will turn black," she told her, and Kieran laughed a little wetly. "Hang on, let's take your makeup off." Kieran swung her legs over to the side of the bed and winced - her whole body ached like none other, and she was surprised to find that her gashes hadn't bled through the sleeves of her shirt, or her pant legs.

Together, mother and daughter walked into the bathroom and soaked cotton balls in makeup remover, wiping them gently across her eyes. "So tell me," Kieran's mom started, and Kieran's stomach sank. "What happened with you two?"

Kieran paused in the middle of drying her face and looked at her mom. For one wild minute, she actually considered telling her mother everything. About Stanton being evil, the Atrox, how he'd turned her, how she'd become an immortal...but then it hit her that her mother would never believe her, and she decided to sugarcoat it a little.

Kieran sighed as she spoke. "He...broke it off with me because he was afraid of hurting me," she said simply, and her eyes flooded again. "But I don't understand," she said as her tears spilled over. "He told me he loved me tonight...and then he broke it off. I - I don't...Why are you smiling?" she asked her mom, frowning. She was crying and her mother was smiling? What the hell?

Kieran's mom looked down, still smiling. "That sounds familiar. Did I ever tell you your father and I were high school sweethearts?"

"Yes." Kieran rolled her eyes. "Several times, but I don't - "

"Shh. Listen," she said in that motherly way of hers. "About a year and a half into our relationship, we got into a huge fight and broke up. What I never told you was that he broke up with me because he was afraid of what he was feeling. He said he was afraid of hurting me-" she looked at Kieran with raised eyebrows, emphasizing her point. "- but he was afraid of getting in too deep. We stayed apart for about a week and kept passing each other in the halls, giving each other miserable looks. He always looked like he wanted to run to me and sweep me off my feet again, but for that week, he held back. I'm sure I looked awful - I cried myself to sleep every night until one day in the middle of school, in the middle of an extremely crowded hallway, he passed me, then yanked me back in his direction and kissed me in front of everyone. He knew I would take him back. It wasn't a question of going back to him or not - he broke up with me for stupid reasons, and we both knew it."

Kieran stared. She'd never heard this story in so much depth. Her mother had never told her about the breakup, just mentioned it momentarily.

"A week after he did that, he proposed to me. He told me he realized I was the best thing that had ever happened to him, and that life without me wasn't a life at all. He realized that he needed to be with me, and that he wanted to be with me for the rest of his life...three years later, we got married." Kieran couldn't help but smile. "We've never been so in love, either of us, or so happy. Kieran...don't lose faith in Stanton," she told her daughter.

Kieran shook her head. "You don't understand, mom...he was so final about it..."

"So was your father. In fact, I think he actually said 'stop fighting me, Theresa. It's over. That's it. No more.' You don't get much more final than that," she added with a bit of a laugh, as it if was just a funny memory - and after 25 years of marriage, it was just a funny memory to her.

Kieran stared. "That's what Stanton said...I tried to get him to change his mind, but he..."

Theresa shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Men never know what they want. Right, Don?" she asked her husband, whom she knew was eavesdropping as usual outside the door.

Sheepishly, he answered, "Er, right dear."

Kieran's mother giggled, and Kieran felt a pang. She missed being able to giggle at things Stanton said already, and they hadn't even been apart for a full twenty four hours. "Mom..."

"I know, sweetheart," her mom said, and hugged her. Kieran had to bite her tongue to stop from crying out as her mother pressed the fabric of her pajamas into her various gashes. Her tears, this time, came half from pain. Her skin burned under her clothes.

"Ow," Kieran whispered.

"Did I hurt you?" Theresa asked, jerking back and looking her daughter over. "Are you okay?"

"It's nothing, I'm just a little sore," she said, pulling at her sleeves to get them off her arms.

"I'm sorry. Hey, do you want dinner?...Or breakfast?" she added with a smile and wiped a tear off her daughter's cheek.

Kieran bit her lip. "I'd kind of like to take a bath first. I didn't shower last night and I feel like I need to," she admitted with a smile. "After, maybe?"

Kieran's mother kissed her forehead. "I love you sweetheart. Stanton does, too. He'll come around, I'm sure. If not," she added, hands on her hips, "I'll find where he lives and kick his ass."

"Mo-om!" Kieran whined, and her mother laughed, walking out of the bathroom. She'd let Kieran take her bath and then come down for food. She had to be hungry after all that dancing and who knew what else.

"I expect more details about the party when you come down," she said with a smile.

Kieran smiled back at her and assured her that she would give her details when she got down, but once her mother left the room and was out of sight, Kieran's smile dropped quickly, and she closed the door. Carefully, feeling rather like she was peeling something glued together apart, she took her shirt off. "Ow," she whimpered as her slashes began to throb a little. Turning on the faucet, hot water first, she peeled off the rest of her clothing and checked to see if she was still bleeding anywhere. She saw the everything had scabbed over, and heaved a slight sigh of relief. When the water turned the temperature she wanted, Kieran plugged the drain and poured strawberry body soap under the running water so it would form better suds. How am I going to explain these to mom?

"You're not," she whispered to herself, and turned off the water, climbing into the hot water and suds.

She soaked for half an hour, and then got out, wincing as her legs still ached. Smelling strongly of strawberries, she peeked out the door to make sure her mother wasn't out there waiting for her. Sure enough, she had gone downstairs to make dinner as she promised. Kieran, wrapped in a salmon colored towel, walked quickly to her room, closing the door behind her. After letting her towel drop, she looked in the mirror and winced at her slashed up skin. She would have to dress warmly for awhile, she realized as she put a different pair of pajamas on, with long sleeves and long legs. Wringing her hair out into the towel and shaking it out a bit, she hoped to help it dry faster. On her way out her door, she stepped into her fluffy slippers.

She walked downstairs gingerly, putting a lot of weight on the handrail once she reached it. Wordlessly, she flopped down on the couch in their living room. Her mom soon came and sat next to her. "Your father and I are having hamburgers. Would you like one?" Kieran grimaced. Food didn't sound any good right now. "Maybe not. Pancakes?" when Kieran shook her head, Theresa stared. "You love pancakes, sweetheart...Don't make yourself sick over this Stanton thing," she warned, guessing that was the problem.

Well, that was half of it, and Kieran sighed, letting her mom see that she was at least partially right. The other half was the pain she was in. It was making her a bit queasy, as her body throbbed. "Please, no food, mom," Kieran said quietly. "I think I'm just going to go sit on the porch for awhile and compose. Come get me before you and dad go to sleep," she said with a smile, and walked into the "piano room" as she always called it, where her mother's grand piano sat happily in a corner, well-played and perfectly tuned. Kieran's manuscript book sat open to a half finished sonata on the piano, and she grabbed it, along with her pencil, then turned and walked out the front door.

She liked their porch. It was...cute. Small, with a roof over it, and a floodlight. It had two little pillars that she loved to lean against and draw, or write, or compose as she was doing now.

Two hours later, it was almost getting nearly too dark to write comfortably, so she slipped the pencil behind her ear and looked through her notebook. Coming across a composition she hadn't sung through in awhile, she hummed a scale or two to warm up her voice. Once she felt confident, she opened her mouth and, with a little sigh, began to sing quietly. Halfway through, she closed her eyes and the book and leaned her head against the pillar, singing to no one in particular in the night.

The wind ran its long fingers through her hair and caressed her face. Kieran sighed in the middle of a rest, and closed her mouth, simply humming the tune, which, at this point in the song, was low enough in her register to resonate throughout her body.

As she held her whole notes, tilting her head to the night, the wind drew lines around her throat. Suddenly, the wind changed course and whirled around her body as she finished the song. The breeze stopped as suddenly as it had begun, and Kieran opened her eyes, wondering if she was right in feeling as though someone was watching her.

Sure enough, she saw a very familiar figure step from the shadows under her tree. "I haven't heard you sing in awhile," Stanton said quietly, his voice as soft and gentle as the night.

"I've been busy," Kieran told him, turning away and picking up her manuscript notebook from the porch. She stepped onto it, ready to walk in, and Stanton spoke.

"Kieran, don't...can...can I talk to you?" he asked, sounding incredibly awkward.

"About what?" she asked, pretending to look for her pencil that she knew very well was behind her ear. "I didn't think there was anything to talk about."

"Kia, don't - "

"Don't call me that," she said, sounding pained for the first time, and watched him out of her peripheral vision. In a guise of searching for her pencil on the ground, she stepped off the porch again and looked around, then sighed. "You wanted to talk? Talk."

"Can we sit?" Stanton asked, gesturing towards the porch, and Kieran raised her eyebrows expectantly, hugging the notebook to her chest. With a sigh, Stanton began. "Look...I...haven't been able to...Since I...we..." he sighed. "Why can't I get this out? Kieran, I'm an idiot."

"Yes," she said, vaguely amused, and allowed a bit of a smirk to cross her lips. Stanton gave a little laugh. "Care to continue, or shall we just leave it at that?"

Stanton stopped smiling and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm an idiot for breaking up with you. Ever since I did, I haven't been able to get you off my mind at all. I couldn't sleep, I can't eat, I can't...I need you in my life, Kieran. I love you. You were right - trying to kill a relationship just to avoid causing pain to you was...stupid. Ridiculous. Moronic. I want to be with you, and I'm ready to take back everything I said...that is, if there's still a place in your heart for me," he said more quietly, hesitantly, and caught her gaze.

Kieran frowned and hugged her book tighter. "You hurt me, Stanton," she told him, her voice hoarse and a bit strained. "You hurt me a lot. I loved you. You can't just break up with me every time I get 'tangled' in your life. What didn't you get? I wanted to be tangled in your life. I knew who and what you were and I loved you anyway, but you killed it, Stanton. You killed it, and you killed me." She was surprised at how harsh her tone was, especially with tears running down her cheeks the way they were - she knew now.

Stanton watched her for a few more seconds, and nodded. "I understand...I just came...I came to apologize," he said smoothly, "and to explain myself. If you're not willing to take me back, under the circumstances, I understand." As he spoke, he turned away.

"Stanton, wait," Kieran said, and he stopped, turning to face her again. "I...want you back," she admitted, her voice softer and shaking now.

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Stanton walked closer to her, relaxing quite a bit. "You do? Are you sure?"

Kieran nodded. "Yes. As long as you don't try to break up with me if I get tangled in your life again."

"Kieran, I would never - "

"And one more condition," she added a little slyly, looking up at him as he brushed her hair behind the ear holding her pencil up.

"Name it, Kieran," he said gently, longing to kiss her again, to take her in his arms and never let go. To show this, he moved closer, until their lips were almost touching. Her soft lips brushed against his as she named her last request.

"Call me Kia."

"Kia," Stanton whispered against her lips, teasing her, and she, this time, was the one who stood on her toes and forced their lips to meet and his arms to wrap around her once hers wrapped around him. He pulled away a little, and hugged her closer to him. "I missed you."

"Can we go down to the beach?" she asked gently, and Stanton nodded.

"Ready?" Before Kieran had time to answer, Stanton had leaned back and shifted both of them into shadows. He'd bring her back by midnight...or maybe closer to one.

* * *

**A/N: **The End...

What did you think? Tell me!

-Cali :)


End file.
